Contents 

October 2006 

112 

Cover Story 

Simaudio’s Moon 

Evolution Series 

Electronics 

Paul Seydor on three full-out assaults on the state of the art. 

25 

The Absolute Sound’s 

2006 Editors’ Choice Awards 

35 pages of TAS Recommended Products. 

120 

HP’s Editor’s Choice List 

Harry Pearson picks his best of the best. 

101 

Equipment Reports 

PrimaLuna ProLogue Six Monoblock Amplifier 

Jim Hannon on a musical and affordable tube amp. 

Rega Apollo CD Player 

Breakthrough performance, bargain price, says Chris Martens. 

Arcam FMJ CD36 Player and FMJ C31 Preamplifier 

Jacob Heilbrunn on two mid-priced overachievers from England. 

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM VOORHES 

October 2006 The Absolute Sound

Contents 

6 Letters 

137 Manufacturer Comments 

10 From The Editor 

12 Industry News 

18 iTAS: NHT Pro M-00 

Monitors and April Music 

DAC and Headphone 

Amp 

Barry Willis on how to move from 

geekdom to pro audio in one leap. 

 

founder; chairman, 

editorial advisory board 

editor-in-chief 

editor 

executive editor 

managing and 

music editor 

acquisitions manager 

and associate editor 

equipment setup 

Harry Pearson 

Robert Harley 

Wayne Garcia 

Jonathan Valin 

Bob Gendron 

Neil Gader 

Danny Gonzalez 

senior writers 

John W. Cooledge, Anthony H. Cordesman, 

Gary Giddins, Robert E. Greene, Fred Kaplan, 

Chris Martens, Andrew Quint, Paul Seydor, 

Alan Taffel 

141 Music 

Recording of the Issue—Pierre Boulez: 

Le Domaine musical 1956–1967, 

Vols. 1 and 2 

141 Classical 

Reviews of Haydn’s Orlando Paladino, 

Walton’s Symphony No. 1, Joel 

Fan’s World Keys, Stravinsky’s Les 

Noces on SACD, Mercury Living 

Presence Russian Recordings LP 

box set, and a classical music 

encyclopedia. 

148 Rock Etc. 

Reviews of more than a dozen 

new albums and reissues, 

including the latest from Califone, 

Ali Farka Toure, Mountain Goats, 

Black Keys, M. Ward, Hidden 

Cameras, and Psalm One. Also, 

vinyl from Golden Smog and Neil 

Young, and the lowdown on the 

second batch of Cure reissues and 

Austin City Limits live discs. 

163 Jazz 

The skinny on the latest from Jason 

Moran, Keith Jarrett, Susanne 

Abbuehl, Ornette Coleman, and a pair 

from Brad Mehldau. Plus, a box set 

from Weather Report and an SACD 

from Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet. 

16 

137 

reviewers and 

contributing writers 

Soren Baker, Greg Cahill, Dan Davis, 

Andy Downing, Jim Hannon, Jacob Heilbrunn, 

John Higgins, Sue Kraft, Mark Lehman, 

Ted Libbey, David McGee, Derk Richardson, 

Don Saltzman, Aaron M. Shatzman, 

Max Shepherd 

art director 

managing editor, 

avguide.com 

web producer 

Absolute Multimedia, Inc. 

chairman and ceo 

vice president/publisher 

advertising reps 

Torquil Dewar 

Monica M. Williams 

Ari Koinuma 

Thomas B. Martin, Jr. 

Mark Fisher 

Cheryl Smith 

(512) 891-7775 

Marvin Lewis 

MTM Sales 

(718) 225-8803 

reprints and e-prints: Jennifer Martin, Wrights Reprints, 

Toll Free: (877) 652-5295, Outside the U.S.: (281) 419-5725, 

jmartin@wrightsreprints.com 

subscriptions, renewals, changes of address: 

Phone (888) 732-1625 (US) or (815) 734-5833 

(outside US), or write The Absolute Sound, 

Subscription Services, PO Box 629, Mt Morris, 

IL 61054. Ten issues: in the US, $42; Canada $57 (GST 

included); outside North America, $67 (includes air mail). 

Payments must be by credit card (VISA, MasterCard, 

American Express) or US funds drawn on a US bank, with 

checks payable to Absolute Multimedia, Inc. 

editorial matters: Address letters to The Editor, The 

Absolute Sound, PO Box 1768, Tijeras, New Mexico 87059, 

or e-mail rharley@absolutemultimedia.com. 

classified advertising: Please use form in back of issue. 

168 The TAS Back Page 

13 Questions for EveAnna Manley, 

newsstand distribution and local dealers: Contact IPD, 

27500 Riverview Center Blvd., Suite 400, Bonita Springs, 

Florida 34134, (239) 949-4450 

by Neil Gader. 

publishing matters: Contact Mark Fisher at the address 

below or e-mail mfisher@absolutemultimedia.com. 

“at work I don’t have 

time to clean off 

records so I just spin a 

CD or play some crap 

off my computer” 

176 

Publications Mail Agreement 40600599 

Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to 

Station A / P.O. Box 54 / Windsor, ON N9A 6J5 

E-mail: info@theabsolutesound.com 

Absolute Multimedia, Inc. 

4544 S. Lamar, Bldg. G-300 

Austin, Texas 78745 

phone (512) 892-8682 · fax (512) 891-0375 

e-mail tas@absolutemultimedia.com 

www.theabsolutesound.com 


Letters 

More on MAGICO 

I’ve read Jonathan’s Magico review a couple of times over. One item of 

curiosity for prospective purchasers like myself with small rooms: Can 

we get far enough away from the speakers for the drivers to integrate 

properly What was/is JV’s listening distance or range of listening distances 

of choice 

Kevin Kwann 

JV replies: In a room that is roughly 17.5' x 16' x 10' I sat anywhere from 

8' to 10.5' away from the Minis, which were themselves about 3' 5" from 

the backwalls (measuring from the rear of the Minis’ enclosures) and 

about 3' 4" away from sidewalls (measuring from the outside middle of 

the Minis’ enclosures). The Minis’ drivers blended perfectly at any and all 

of my listening positions. (I preferred about 8.5' for the greater sense of 

immersiveness.) 

Focus on Music 

Thanks so much for Derk Richardson’s article on free-jazz guitarists in 

last month’s issue. I now have a road map for several months of musical 

purchases. 

The inclusion of Sonny Sharrock in the article brought a nostalgic smile to 

my face. On a late night in 1988 I was lying in the trunk of a Jetta installing a 

car stereo when the local community radio station (KBOO) put on Sharrock’s 

Guitar and let it play through. At the time I was twenty-something, playing 

guitar in a couple of fairly experimental rock bands, and heavily influenced 

by guitarists whom I naively thought represented the exploratory edge of the 

rock-guitar hinterlands (Hendrix, Garcia, Zappa, etc.). Sharrock opened my 

eyes to what might best be described as an alternative universe of possibility 

using the guitar as a musical tool—a change in perception akin to the switch 

from black-and-white to color in the Wizard of Oz. I spent the next 18 months 

searching record store bins looking for Guitar. (No instant gratification of 

search and buy on the Internet back then!) I highly recommend this record, 

particularly to students of the guitar, as a potentially life-altering bit of art and 

tour de force of unique virtuosity. 

Bravo for your focus on music. The search for the absolute sound is in part 

about the playback equipment. It should also be open to the opportunity 

for epiphanies like the one I had in a car trunk all those years ago. 

Spot On 

Steve Claussen 

Aquick note to say that Robert Harley’s review of the Mark Levinson 

Nº 326s [Issue 162] was spot on. As a jaded audiophile who reads the 

reviews with some reservation I must say that RH called it as I have 

experienced it. I purchased a 326s to replace the “awesome” Audio Research 

Reference 3 expecting the 326s to be flat (no depth) and boring among other 

things. I personally can’t think of one thing about the Ref. 3 that I prefer and I 

never thought I’d say that about a piece of solid-state gear. I don’t know what 

magic Mark Levinson put in this unit but it is very good. Rumor has it that those 

in the know prefer it to the No. 32. Anyway thanks again for a great “tip,” and 

keep up the good work! 

BTW, I’m using Wilson Sophia 2s and think they, too, are incredible. 

Tim Wilson 

OF MAGNETS & 

TURNTABLES 

In your last issue, HP states that the two new turntables from 

EAR and Blue Pearl use new technology. The newly implemented 

magnetic suspension, and more importantly magnetic drive, 

have been used in turntable design and manufacture before! 

I only know this as, several months ago, I purchased via eBay a 

“Magnafloat” TEAC turntable from the 70s. Right now I am having 

it mounted on a custom-designed plinth. It will have the ability to 

mount an arm of choice. Anyway, just a little-known fact for you. 

Robin Wyatt 

Robyatt Audio 

HP replies: I didn’t use that exact phrase, nor did I intend to. 

There was much more I could have said about the use of magnets 

in turntable design, which I didn’t (space and time limitations), 

although neither I nor anyone else I know of writing about the high 

end ever heard of that specific and long-since-discontinued TEAC 

turntable. 

“What is ‘new’ is the sudden 

mini-boomlet in the use of 

magnets in ’table design...” 

More seriously, Mr. Wyatt fails to mention just how magnets 

were used in the table: Was it in the bearings (as in the French 

Verdier and English Blue Pearl), or was it, and much more unlikely, 

as a magnetic drive, which was not a first in the case of the EAR 

turntable I reviewed. (A small one-man shop in Britain beat EAR to 

the punch. Clearaudio, whose table is now available at more than 

five times the cost of the EAR, was then being developed.) Frankly, 

given the state of magnet technology almost four decades ago, I 

would be surprised if the TEAC application was either extensive or 

practical. It certainly did not, as far as we know, breed imitators. 

What is “new” is the sudden mini-boomlet in the use of magnets 

in ’table design and that, a point I was trying to make clear, is 

potentially revolutionary. 

Upcoming in TAS 

• Feature & Roundtable on Class D Amplifiers 

• Chapter Précis integrated amp 

• Ascendo M loudspeaker 

• NAD 720BEE receiver 

• Stirling LS3/5a loudspeaker 

• Eben X3 loudspeaker 


Letters 

SACD a Success 

I 

have recently come to believe that SACD really did 

succeed. Why, you say Sony has basically stopped 

making SACDs. Its new-generation Blu-ray players 

will play just about anything else but not SACDs. The 

Rolling Stones SACDs are out of print or going that 

way. Some other smaller companies in the market still 

produce the format, but the originator seems to have 

abandoned it. True, but that is evidence for my point, 

not against it. 

What was the purpose of SACD I suspect it was to 

kill off DVD-A as a high-resolution audio format. Sure, 

DSD recording, a Sony development, is a good flexible 

process for making high-resolution recordings, but so is 

LPCM at 192/24 or 96/24. If DVD-Audio took off, there 

would be less of a market for DSD in the future, and 

DVD-Audio as a single high-resolution alternative to CD 

could have been a serious threat to the future of the 

CD format and the royalties Sony gets from it. With the 

number of DVD players in consumer hands—starting 

years ago, if not for format wars, they could have been 

DVD-A-compatible, and Classic Records’ so-called DADs 

play high-resolution stereo on essentially any regular 

DVD player—the CD could have died off, replaced by 

a far superior medium. Instead the format competition 

between DVD-A and SACD probably prevented both 

formats from reaching critical mass in the market. 

Yes, we still can order, mostly by mail or Internet, 

SACDs from smaller American companies and imports 

from abroad, but for the most part they are not 

available in stores. We can enjoy our Mercuries, Telarcs, 

Living Stereo SACDs, and scattered others, but they are 

a very small portion of the market, they don’t seem to 

be increasing, they aren’t generally in stores, and you 

basically have to know about them and seek them out. 

But I hope they will continue. 

Kim Weston 

Robert Harley replies: Sony’s CD-related patents 

expired several years ago. Its SACD initiative was not, 

in my view, designed to “kill DVD-A” as you suggest, 

but rather to ensure another 20 years of royalty 

revenue from the patents it holds on SACD. 

I agree that there are enough good titles in the 

format to make SACD an important source. For a 

complete list of more than 3300 titles, see www. 

sa-cd.net. 

Join the discussion of all things 

audio with fellow readers and 

the TAS editors and writers at 

AVGuide.com forum. 


Editor 

FROM THE 

“The next 

step is a series 

of conference 

calls among the 

magazine’s senior 

editorial staff in 

which we discuss, 

debate, argue, 

cajole, and hash 

out whether or 

not a product 

should be added 

to the Editors’ 

Choice list.” 

We’re pleased to unveil in this issue the new graphic direction for The Absolute Sound. We think you’ll 

find that our look is fresher and more stimulating—and makes what we have to say more accessible. 

The design was created by Art Director, Torquil Dewar, who will be putting together each issue of 

the magazine in the future. 

We’ve also just given our sister magazine, The Perfect Vision, an editorial and graphic update. Concomitantly, 

we’ve increased the publication frequency of TPV to ten times per year (up from six) and are offering the 

magazine in electronic form absolutely free at www.avguide.com. 

While you’re at avguide.com, be sure to join our reader forum and get in on the discussion with other 

readers and TAS editors. Jonathan Valin’s review of the $22,000 MAGICO Mini in the last issue sparked quite 

a controversy on the forum over the concept of value in high-end audio. Read Jonathan’s insightful ideas and 

contribute your own thoughts on the avguide.com forum. 

This issue features our 35-page Editors’ Choice list of every product we recommend. We determine the final list 

by taking last year’s recommendations, removing discontinued products, and then considering for inclusion every 

component we’ve reviewed in the current year. We poll the writers who wrote the reviews, asking whether they 

would buy the products themselves with their own money. The next step is a series of conference calls among the 

magazine’s senior editorial staff in which we discuss, debate, argue, cajole, and hash out whether or not a product 

should be given an Editors’ Choice Award. 

To call these conference calls “lively” would be an understatement. There’s heated—though always congenial— 

debate about whether certain products should be included. An important criterion is whether the candidate 

product is equal to, or better than, a similarly priced product. If the answer is no, the product doesn’t make the 

final cut. In some cases, however, we allow for differences in design, such as stand-mounted vs. floorstanding 

loudspeakers, or tubed vs. solid-state amplifiers. Of course, some products are so outstandingly good that we 

reach unanimous agreement immediately. We also consider whether an idiosyncratic product that perhaps isn’t 

our cup of tea would, nonetheless, perform well in certain systems. We’ll include some such products, but point 

out in the write-ups that they fit into very narrow niches. 

Our Editors’ Choice list is the single biggest feature we publish all year. It represents the collective wisdom 

and experience of our writers and editors. Not every product worthy of recommendation is on the list (we don’t 

recommend what we have not heard), but every product on the list is worthy of recommendation. 

I was having dinner with Bob Carver in Austin, Texas, the other night when a funny thing happened. As you 

probably know, Carver is the founder of Carver, and more recently, of Sunfire. He is one of the few truly 

innovative thinkers in audio design. Many designers have created great-sounding circuits, but very few have 

invented entirely new circuit topologies (and loudspeaker concepts) from a clean sheet of paper. 

Carver’s innovations include the first high-powered solid-state amplifier (the 350Wpc Phase Linear 700 in 

1972), the Auto-Correlator circuit, Sonic Holography, the Magnetic-Field Power Amplifier, and the Asymmetric 

Charge-Coupled Stereo Detector, a circuit for improving FM reception. Carver’s ingenuity extends to 

loudspeakers, as well. His Amazing Loudspeaker, introduced in 1986, employed a 60-inch ribbon with four 12- 

inch woofers in a large, open panel. When set up correctly, the Amazing lived up to its name. In addition, before 

Carver developed his True Subwoofer in 1994, you simply couldn’t get low bass from a small box, but the True 

Subwoofer delivered extremely high levels of very low bass from an enclosure about a foot square. It was nothing 

short of revolutionary. 

Anyway, back to my dinner story. The young waiter overheard us talking and asked incredulously, “You’re Bob 

Carver” Bob modestly replied that he was. After dinner, another waiter, who must have been about 22 years old, 

approached the table and told Bob that his father owns the pair of Phase Linear 700s that he bought in 1972, and 

is still listening to music on them to this day. 

How gratifying it must be to know that something you created 34 years ago is still being enjoyed in the here 

and now—and to be recognized by a generation who wasn’t even born when some of your creations were 

developed. 

It was a wonderful moment. 

10 October 2006 The Absolute Sound 

Robert Harley 

Editor-in-Chief

Industry 

NEWS 

The Rocky Mountain Audio 

Fest Returns to Denver 

The third annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest returns to the Marriott at Denver’s Tech Center 

this coming October 20-22, 2006. Last year this show, which TAS Editor-in-Chief Robert Harley 

called “North America’s premier hi-fi event,” doubled in size from its first year, boasting more 

than 125 exhibit rooms that were the best-sounding of any audio show TAS editors and writers 

have attended. 

The RMAF is a terrific venue for hearing great sound and discovering new gear. The show is 

spread out enough for showgoers to spend time in each room’s sweet spot, talk to manufacturers, 

and hang out with other enthusiasts. The generally superb sound is attributable to the exhibitors’ 

passion and set-up skills, the high quality of the equipment, and good-sounding rooms. In addition, 

the Marriott has many large rooms ideal for demonstrating large loudspeaker systems. 

This year’s RMAF adds a few new twists: Five TAS staffers (RH, WG, JV, NG, and CM) will be joined 

by Roy Gregory, editor of our sister magazine Hi-Fi+, in a “Meet the Editors” panel. Bring your 

comments, questions, and opinions to this lively discussion about all things audio. Roy will also 

put on several of his fascinating hi-fi demonstrations so highly regarded by attendees of European 

audio shows. For more information, go to www.audiofest.net. 

Chris Martens 

JOHN GARLAND 

1941–2006 

Pioneering Bay Area high-end audio retailer 

John Garland died May 3 from congestive 

heart failure. Starting in high school, he 

taught himself to play several instruments, 

and he was especially drawn to jazz and 

classical music. After being discharged 

from the army in 1965, Garland went to 

work as a draftsman for IBM in San Jose, 

California. He got hooked on high-end 

audio after hearing a friend’s system, and 

in 1968 bought a partnership in a TV and 

stereo business. He left five years later, and 

with $10,000 opened Garland Audio in San 

Jose. 

I met John Garland shortly thereafter, 

when, as a teenage audiophile with a freshly 

printed driver’s license and an after-school 

job, I first visited his shop. It was located 

near a Pacific Stereo store where I’d gone 

to hear Bose 901s. But I preferred the 

original Advent speaker, and when I left 

the store a salesman gave me a brochure 

on the Advent, along with the now rather 

legendary reprint of TAS founder Harry 

Pearson’s review of it. (This review put TAS 

on the map, and as it was with many other 

readers this reprint was my first exposure to 

the magazine.) Garland Audio was unlike 

any stereo store I’d ever walked into, and it 

literally opened a world unknown to me. It 

was the place where I first saw and heard 

Magneplanar speakers and Audio Research 

and Mark Levinson electronics. The store 

was a classic of its day. A place to buy 

Fulton Gold speaker cables, Rogers LS3/ 

5a’s, Nakamichi tape decks, and along with 

a host of other gear, direct-to-disc LPs and, 

yes, The Absolute Sound. I remember John as 

a gregarious man, with a gap-toothed smile, 

a deep, New England-accented voice, and 

dark, Beach Boys-like hair. He loved to 

share his latest audio as well as musical 

discoveries and, for better or worse, it was 

largely because of Garland that I ended up 

in audio retailing and eventually publishing. 

But the latter is HP’s doing, and a story for 

another day. 

Wayne Garcia 

12 October 2006 The Absolute Sound

Industry News 

Burwen Bobcat: 

A Digital Audio Revolution 

in the Making 

In a recent conversation with The Absolute 

Sound, Mark Levinson discussed Burwen 

Bobcat software, a digital audio processing 

product that, if widely embraced, could lead to 

major paradigm shifts in the way we store and 

listen to music. “What we’re talking about here 

is a revolution,” says Levinson, who believes 

Burwen software could entice music lovers 

to adopt PC-based digital audio systems as 

their new sonic gold standard. According 

to Levinson, Burwen-processed PCM files 

ripped from CDs offer what he regards as the 

finest digital audio sound he has yet heard— 

sound he likens to that of analog master 

tapes. Moreover, Levinson says that Burwenprocessed 

128kbps MP3 files aren’t far behind, 

offering sound quality on a par with, if not better than, 

that of SACDs. What gives these statements 

added force is the fact that Levinson has long 

been a devotee of analog audio, and an ardent 

supporter of the SACD format. 

Burwen Bobcat is the brainchild of Mark 

Levinson and Richard Burwen, an engineer 

who served as a consultant on several early 

Mark Levinson Audio System and Cello, Ltd. 

products. Bobcat is a plug-in for Windows 

Media Player 10, and it can be used to process 

MP3 files, lossless (CD-quality) WMA files, 

or uncompressed PCM data direct from Red 

Book CDs. Bobcat is a proprietary, patentpending, 

computation-intensive process (Intel 

Pentium 4 processors, or higher, are required) 

that does three things. It applies a new form 

of rapid, high-frequency reverberation— 

reverberation much too fast to be audible 

as “reverb” in the usual sense of the term, 

which helps smooth resulting high-frequency 

audio waveforms. Bobcat restores the leading 

edges of transients to their original steepness. 

Bobcat can, via user-selectable processing 

settings, apply extremely precise equalization 

adjustments optimized for various types of 

material. Overall, the idea is to create audio 

waveforms that more closely resemble 

those that originate from high-quality analog 

recorders (but without the associated noise). 

See the Burwen Web site for further details: 

www.burwenaudio.com. 

Bobcat offers a total of 18 processing 

settings, one of which, called BASIC 3, 

provides purely restorative functions. The 

other 17 settings offer subtly different voicing 

and spatial presentation-options tailored to 

fit various types of musical and cinematic 

material. Interestingly, Bobcat’s settings are 

carefully crafted presets originally developed 

by Burwen using his own computercontrolled 

professional mastering system, 

called Audio Splendor. At present, the Burwen 

package contains no provisions for burning 

Bobcat-processed files to CD-Rs, though 

this functionality may be added in the future. 

However, a companion USB DAC offers a 

workaround. 

At present, Bobcat processed files must 

be decoded through a USB DAC offered 

by Daniel Hertz Advanced Audio Designs 

(www.danielhertz.com). Analog signals from 

the Hertz DAC can feed any high-end audio 

system, or drive outboard CD-R recorders 

to create Burwen-processed CD-Rs that 

can be played on normal CD players. The 

Daniel Hertz USB DAC is priced at $1500, 

complete with a copy of Burwen Bobcat 

software. Alternatively, users can chose the 

newly released Daniel Hertz Genius, which is 

a combination of the USB DAC plus a very 

high-quality 50Wpc integrated amplifier. The 

Genius sells for $3000 (or $3200 with Burwen 

Bobcat bundled in). Other Bobcat-friendly 

Daniel Hertz products include the $3000 

Callisto Basic and $5000 Callisto Elite, which 

are high-performance, ultra-low-noise PCs 

that make ideal platforms for encoding and 

storing Bobcat music files. The PCs are styled 

to look like audio components and include 

very high-performance video boards said to 

perform better than most DVD players. 

Levinson points out the sheer flexibility 

afforded by the Bobcat approach. For 

example, older recordings can be digitized 

and then processed through Bobcat to yield 

files that will sound much better than the 

original source materials. Similarly, Bobcat 

can improve MP3 files from music download 

sites to a point where they become viable 

listening materials for audiophiles. But 

customer testimonials on the Daniel Hertz 

Web site suggest that the Bobcat’s most 

important benefit may involve its ability to 

reduce listener fatigue and to foster a relaxing, 

emotionally engaging experience. 

Does Burwen Bobcat work as advertised 

We won’t know for sure until we give Bobcat 

files and the Daniel Hertz USB DAC a very 

careful listen. But if Bobcat performs as 

Levinson says it does, it could certainly change 

the world of audio. 

1/3 vertical 

October 2006 The Absolute Sound 15

iTas 

Graduate from PC geekdom to 

professional audio in one quick leap 

Barry Willis 

NHT Pro M-00 

Powered Monitors, 

April Music Stello 

DA100 DAC and 

HP100 Headphone 

Amplifier 

Have you grown weary of cheesy little two-watt computer speakers 

Would you like to graduate from PC geekdom to professional audio in one 

quick leap 

The NHT Pro M-00 powered monitor is your ticket straight to the top of the class. Long a favorite among 

musicians and studio pros, the “Moo” is a compact powered-monitor that combines superb performance with 

great versatility. The little two-way speaker weighs in at a hefty 14 pounds, thanks to an inboard 75-watt amplifier 

that fills the back of its rugged metal enclosure. The back panel includes a mains socket for an IEC grounded 

power cord, a power switch, balanced (XLR and headphone jack, or TRS) and unbalanced (RCA) inputs, a 

sensitivity switch, an auto-on switch, and a switch to select frequency balance for listening in the nearfield (2m). 


NHT Pro M-00 Powered Monitors, April Music Stello DA100 DAC and HP100 Headphone Amplifier 

iTas 

Stick-on rubber bumpers (supplied) let you 

place the Moo on the nicest desktops without 

causing scratches. Threaded recesses in the back 

panel accept machine screws for wall-mounting. 

With a 1" fabric-dome tweeter and 4.5" woofer, 

the Moo is rated by NHT at 80Hz–20kHz “in 

room,” with the low-frequency cutoff at –6dB. 

This may seem like insubstantial bass response, 

but when used in the nearfield (as I do, with 

them flanking a Dell 17" LCD screen on my 

desk), the bass seems subjectively much deeper. 

The RCA inputs can be connected directly to 

the headphone output on a PC or iPod, or to 

a signal-buffering device, such as a USB digitalto-analog 

converter. (I have a Stereo-link 1200 

between my Sony Vaio notebook and the M- 

00s.) The balanced inputs allow feeds from any 

balanced source, such as a preamp. NHT makes 

a fully balanced outboard passive volume control 

(PVC) that can be inserted between source and 

speakers. 

Two NHT Pro M-00s are far and away the 

best desktop audio system you can buy. They 

sound fantastically good for the money. How 

good Well, they are favorites of Nashville 

mastering engineer Chuck Ainlay, renowned for 

his exquisite work on many of Mark Knopfler’s 

recordings. How good is Ainlay’s hearing Try 

this: A few years ago, I was part of a group 

of music and audio industry professionals 

who volunteered as guinea pigs for the nowabandoned 

Secure Digital Music Initiative 

(SDMI), an effort by the music industry to insert 

audible signals (“watermarks”) in recordings as 

a way of inhibiting piracy. SDMI conducted a 

series of blind listening tests in London, New 

York, Los Angeles, and Nashville, to determine 

the audibility of the watermarks. I was among 

the group that tested at Denny Purcell’s 

Georgetown Masters studio in Nashville, twice 

at almost a one-year interval. Chuck Ainlay was 

in our group. Most of us scored 50/50, the same 

as random chance (meaning we were simply 

guessing), but Ainlay scored near perfect the 

first time and 100% the second time. The guy’s 

hearing is astounding. 

“Add the S-00 sub 

to the M-00s and 

you’re in happy hifi 

land for a cool 

grand.” 

Ainlay’s endorsement of the M-00s is all any 

music lover should need to justify buying a pair. 

They deliver details and dynamics that would 

simply fail to appear with PC audio systems — 

and with many entry-level home components. 

Residual noise is very low. They can play 

surprisingly loud, especially when coupled to the 

matching S-00 subwoofer ($500)—loud enough, 

in fact, to serve as a primary audio system in 

small-to-medium-sized rooms. Prolonged 

listening induces none of the fatigue or irritability 

engendered by many computer audio products. 

Beyond desktop audio: With a 42" plasma 

monitor, using the variable audio feed from a 

Comcast DVR, the M-00/S-00 combo worked 

perfectly in a small home entertainment setup. 

Full magnetic shielding means the Moo can be 

used near CRTs without distorting the picture. 

I have also used the M-00s as surround effects 

speakers in a 5.1-channel home-theater system. 

The balanced inputs enable long runs of cable 

from your preamp/processor with very little 

loss—standard microphone cable works fine— 

and NHT wisely supplies extra-long power cords 

in anticipation of unusual applications. In hometheater 

setups, this use frees up two channels of 

amplification for bi-amping the front left/right 

channels, or for “Zone 2” use. 

The auto-on feature puts the speakers into 

standby after a few minutes of no signal; they 

spring instantly to life when a signal appears. 

The Moo’s 75-watt power capacity is more 

than adequate for 5.1 surround effects—just 

remember to set the surrounds to “small” 

in speaker setup. The M-00 is robust, but it 

isn’t intended to shake your walls. That’s why 

subwoofers were invented. 

Previously distributed only through NHT’s 

Pro division, the M-00 and companion S-00 

are now available to a much wider audience, 

according to a July 18 announcement. Even 

better, the price has dropped from an original 

$350/each to $250/each, according to the NHT 

Pro Web site. This translates to $500 for a stereo 

pair including high-quality amplification—and 

no need for speaker cables. For bigger, more 

immersive sound, add the S-00 subwoofer for 

an additional $500, and you’re in happy hi-fi 

land for a cool grand. There’s no better bargain 

in audio. 


iTas 

NHT Pro M-00 Powered Monitors, April Music Stello DA100 DAC and HP100 Headphone Amplifier 

Imagine my surprise on the last day of the 

Consumer Electronics Show, when I walked 

into the April Music suite at the Alexis Park and 

had my socks knocked off by the very same 

NHT M-00s playing music off a notebook 

computer. I had the same setup at home, but 

the depth and dynamics in the April Music 

suite were immensely better. The difference 

was the Stello DA100, a USB digital-to-analog 

converter inserted between the computer and 

the speakers. It was a revelatory moment. 

April Music chief and chief engineer Simon 

Lee asked if I’d be interested in taking the 

DA100 home for an extended test drive, along 

with its companion piece, the HP100 headphone 

amplifier/preamp, together marketed as the 

HiFi500. I jumped at the chance and 

haven’t regretted a moment 

since. Designed and 

built in Seoul, South 

Korea, entry-level 

Stello gear shares the 

audiophile credentials 

of the company’s 

more upscale products, 

such as the Stello 

DP200 DAC/preamp 

reviewed by Neil 

Gader in Issue 159. 

The two units are built 

using the same half-width 

chassis, so that side-by-side 

they occupy the space of one 

traditional component. They can 

be stacked for desktop use. Interior 

construction is first-rate, with large 

toroidal transformers at the heart of oversized 

power supplies, and ultra-high parts-quality 

throughout. 

The DA100 is a “true 24-bit delta-sigma” 

upsampling DAC with phase-locked loop 

(PLL) jitter reduction. It’s claimed capable of 

taking ordinary “Red Book” CD playback to 

the 192kHz/24-bit level of resolution of DVD- 

Audio. Inputs include one coaxial, two optical, 

and one USB—an interesting array, given 

Simon Lee’s belief that “coax sounds better 

than optical.” A single pair of heavy-duty goldplated 

RCA jacks provides stereo analog output. 

A front-panel switch engages the upsampling 

function. A few moment’s experimentation 

convinced me that it adds tremendously to 

the sense of air, space, and dimensionality of 

digital recordings, compared to both the unit’s 

standard sampling and direct playback from my 

Marantz CC-65SE disc changer. 

I found the $695 Stello DAC to be a 

substantial improvement over the Perpetual 

Technologies P-1A/P-3A combo (reclocking 

device and upsampling DAC, respectively) that 


has long resided in my system. Instruments and 

voices arise with startling clarity and apparent 

effortlessness from a dark velvety background. 

I also use the DA100 in USB mode to stream 

Sirius Satellite Radio via an older Sony Vaio 

notebook computer. The DA100’s performance 

in this mode is a night-and-day improvement 

over running the notebook’s headphone output 

directly into my preamp. April Music claims that 

the DA100 is capable of processing any digital 

audio stream up to 96kHz/24-bit, including the 

digital audio output from cable and satellite settop 

boxes. 

Its most amazing and significant ability is 

lifting ordinary CD playback into the true highfidelity 

realm. Looping its analog output through 

a Margules Audio ADE-24 “Magenta” analog 

harmonic sweetener takes the whole affair 

up several more notches. The playback 

chain of Marantz CD player, Stello 

DAC, and Magenta analog 

processor yields CD sounds 

virtually indistinguishable 

from the same recordings 

in SACD format 

through a much 

more expensive 

Lexicon RT-20 

universal-disc 

player. The April 

Music Stello 

DA100 proves 

that you can 

get world-class 

sound without throwing 

money into the wind. It’s highly recommended. 

The $595 HP100 headphone amplifier 

features two pairs of stereo inputs, filter and 

gain switches, a Neutrik output jack that 

accommodates both XLR and ¼" phone plugs, 

an ALPS “Blue Velvet” volume pot, and a pair 

of analog outputs. The defeatable filter blocks 

frequencies above 20kHz. 

I tried the HP100 with Sennheiser HD 580 

headphones, JVC HA-D990 headphones, 

Etymotic Research ER-4 earphones, and 

assorted earbuds. The headphones themselves 

proved the limiting factor, not the headphone 

amp. Not in the Stax electrostatic realm of 

transparency, the HP100 is still a huge leap 

over the throwaway op-amps used to power 

headphone outputs on most consumer gear. As 

a preamp it’s very basic but more than adequate, 

and is perfectly suited as a controller for the 

NHT M-00 powered monitors. In fact, the 

April Music components and NHT speakers 

make an ideal compact, efficient, and greatsounding 

desktop or small-room audio system. 

Just add notebook computer and/or iPod, and 

you’re in the music business. 

Specs 

& Pricing 

MANUFACTURER INFORMATION 

NHT LOUDSPEAKERS 

6400 Goodyear Road 

Benicia, California 94510 

nhtpro.com 

APRIL MUSIC, INC. 

#B1 Alpha Bldg., 894-18 Bangbae-Dong, 

Seocho-Gu, Seoul, South Korea 

82 2 597 5562 

aprilmusic.com 

SPECIFICATIONS 

NHT Pro M-00 

Type: Self-powered 2-way acousticsuspension 

near/midfield monitor 

Amplifier Power: 75W 

Frequency Response: 98Hz–20KHz 

Price: $249.95 each 

April Music DA100 

Digital inputs: One coaxial, two optical, 

one USB 

Analog outputs: One pair RCA/ 

unbalanced 

Analog output: 1.3V RMS 

Frequency response: 10Hz–55kHz 

Sampling frequency: Bypass or 192kHz, 

selectable 

Dimensions: 8.3" x 2.2" x 11.3" 

Weight: 8 lbs. 

Price: $695 

April Music HP100 

Analog input: Two pairs RCA/unbalanced 

Analog output: One pair RCA/unbalanced 

Headphone output: One Neutrik XLR 

phone jack 

Power output: 300mW/300 ohms 

Dimensions: 8.3" x 2.2" x 11.3" 

Weight: 8 lbs. 

Price: $595 

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT 

Desktop system: Sony Vaio notebook 

computer; Stereo-link 1200 DAC; NHT 

PVC; NHT S-00 powered subwoofer; Olive 

Musica music server; Sennheiser HD 580 

headphones; JVC HA-D990 headphones; 

Etymotic Research ER-4 earphones. 

Home theater/music system: Marantz CC- 

65SE disc changer; Lexicon RT-20 universal 

disc player; Perpetual Technologies 

P-1A/P-3A and Margules Audio Magenta 

ADE-24 signal processors; Parasound 

Halo C2 preamp/processor; Parasound 

Halo A51 amp; MartinLogan Summit 

and Montana EPS2 loudspeakers; James 

10 SG subwoofer; Kimber Hero, Nordost 

Quattro-fil interconnects; Nordost SPM 

speaker cables; Kimber Palladian power 

cords (digital gear only); American Power 

Conversions S15 power conditioning


Welcome to the 2006 edition of The Absolute Sound’s Editors’ Choice 

Awards, our annual Recommended Products list. On the following 

pages we present the gear that our editors and writers have selected 

as the “best of the best” in each component category. Each category 

is then divided into separate subcategories defined by a price range, 

with components listed in order of ascending cost (though a few 

items, like cables and accessories, are listed alphabetically for clarity’s sake). Each recommendation 

is also accompanied by a capsule review, the original reviewer’s name, and the issue the review 

appeared in. Note that in a few cases a product may have been reviewed in one of our sister 

publications, The Perfect Vision or AVGuide.com, or the review may be pending publication, or the 

product may not have been formally reviewed but earns a recommendation based on one or more 

writer’s extensive experience with it. Given that this is the high end, where components generally 

have long lifespans, some of our recommendations look back several years. At the same time, in 

an effort to be as selective and up to date as possible, we have dropped some components that 

appeared on last year’s list, usually because they have been discontinued but sometimes because 

fresh competition has caused us to reconsider the choice. As we have in the past few years, we’ve 

also included a list of the multichannel sources and electronics that we’ve found most faithful to 

the musical experience, rather than those that are designed more specifically for home-theater use 

(though naturally, the musical ones will do fine double-duty). Limited space, however, has prevented 

us from including multichannel speakers and music servers. To check out those categories please 

go to our Web site, AVGuide.com. Note: TAS founder Harry Pearson’s selections can be found in 

this issue’s HP’s Workshop. 



Loudspeakers 

Under $500 

Paradigm Atom 

$199 

paradigm.com 

A staggering value, Paradigm’s tiny Atom does 

an awful lot right. With a smooth frequency 

response, an open treble, and a natural midrange, 

this little guy only falls short in the bottom two 

octaves or when pushed too hard, displaying 

coarseness at unreasonably loud levels. Best 

used in small rooms at moderate volumes. 

Reviewed by Robert Harley, Issue 133 

Epos ELS3 

$329 

musichallaudio.com 

The Epos ELS3 strives to give you big sound 

from a small box, and does a much better job 

than most. With good midrange and treble 

clarity, superb three-dimensionality, and just 

enough upper midbass weight to keep you from 

missing the lower frequencies that aren’t there. 

Use good stands, place them at ear level well 

away from walls and nearby objects, and feed 

them with clear-voiced amplification. 

Reviewed by Chris Martens, Issue 145 

Usher S520 

$375 

usheraudio.com 

Four things distinguish Usher’s S520 from runof-the-mill, 

sub-$400 mini-monitors: a crisp and 

revealing treble; an unusually open and dynamic 

midrange; taut and surprisingly extended bass 

(no midbass hump here); and eye-popping 

build-quality. One caveat: They need lots of 

break-in, so be patient. 

Reviewed by CM in AVgM, Issue 10 

Era Design 4 

$599 

$500–$1000 

erasound.com 

This diminutive 4.5" two-way from Aerial 

Acoustics’ Michael Kelly delivers a huge, open, 

three-dimensional soundstage, good tonal 


balance, and midbass articulation and dynamics 

that are shocking for a loudspeaker of this 

size. Low sensitivity (83dB/1W/1m) suggests 

matching the Design 4 with at least 80Wpc. 

If you want terrific sound from a pint-sized 

package, look no further. 

Reviewed by RH in Issue 162 

Epos ELS303 

$700 


Epos’s ELS303 is a relatively compact, 2½way 

floorstander that draws much of its design 

DNA from the award-winning ELS3 minimonitor. 

Like its progenitor, the ELS303 is not a 

spectacular performer in any one area of music 

reproduction, yet it does a fine job of getting 

the overall feel of the music right. Blessed with 

a good measure of openness, especially in the 

midrange, excellent imaging, and a touch of 

natural warmth, this is an affordable speaker 

with which to sit back and simply enjoy the 

music. 

Reviewed by CM, Issue 163 

PSB T45/55 

$749 and $899 

psbspeakers.com 

As successors to the popular Image Series, the 

T45 and T55 had big shoes to fill. These small 

and mid-size floorstanders do not disappoint. 

Both products are well-balanced tonally, with 

superior driver integration, excellent output 

capability, and a fair amount of extension. 

Soundstaging is merely adequate, and the treble 

is coolish, but macrodynamics are gutsy and 

fine details delicately reproduced. 

T55 reviewed by Neil Gader, Issue 152; T45 

reviewed by Jim Hannon, AVgM, Issue 11 

Totem Rainmaker 

$950 

totemacoustic.com 

The diminutive Rainmaker continues Totem’s 

tradition of offering amazing sound in small, 

affordable packages. Upfront, bold, and warm, 

the Rainmaker opens an impressively large 

sonic window on the music, with rich, solid 

bass to about 45Hz, good detail, and nice 

spaciousness. The metal-dome tweeter may or 

may not be your cup of brew, as more sensitive 

ears have found it a bit edgy and dry. Otherwise, 

a remarkable effort. 

Reviewed by Wayne Garcia with NG 

comment, Issue 151 

$1000–$1500 

Magnepan MG12/QR 

$1099 

magnepan.com 

This affordable two-way quasi-ribbon brings 

you remarkably close to the best performance 

such designs are capable of. When properly 

placed—around three feet from the back wall and 

sidewalls—its clarity is addictive, with a wide and 

deep soundstage, and terrific transient speed. The 

MG12 performs satisfyingly down to about 40Hz; 

below that, some listeners may want a subwoofer. 

Reviewed by Sallie Reynolds, AVgM, Issue 2 

Spendor S3/5 and S3/5SE 

$1099 and $1399 

qsandd.com 

The S3/5 two-way mini-monitor is Lilliputian in 

size, so it has real dynamic and bass limitations, 

though lacks neither warmth nor richness. 

Blessed with exceptional tonal neutrality, 

openness, transparency, and imaging, it is like a 

Quad 63/988 in a shoebox-sized enclosure. At 

just 84dB sensitivity, it needs at least 25 watts of 

quality power, and stand-mounting is preferable. 

The SE version trades the neutral midrange 

of the standard S3/5 for a slight upper-mid 

forwardness and improved transparency, 

resolution, and dynamic range. 

Reviewed by Paul Seydor, Issues 119 and 143 

Revel Concerta F12 

$1199 

revelspeakers.com 

The Concerta F12’s greatest strengths are 

extended bass response, a neutral tonal 

balance, a good measure of midrange nuance, 

and wonderfully consistent voicing from top 

to bottom. Though it may not offer the last 

word in transparency or the nth degree of 

bass articulation, this speaker is easy to drive 

with real-world amps, and always produces an 

inviting, well-balanced sound. 

Reviewed by Arnie Williams, Issue 157


$1500–$2000 

Dynaudio Audience 52SE 

$1500 

dynaudio-usa.com 

This over-achieving two-way monitor delivers 

the traditional Dynaudio virtues. While it leans 

ever so slightly to the darker side of neutral, it 

offers exceptional balance, an airy treble, full 

upper-bass response, and impressive dynamics. 

It may not plumb the depths in the low 

frequencies, but it excels in clarity and punch. 

Build-quality is superior. A mellow, refined little 

speaker with a big sonic footprint. 

Reviewed by NG, Issue 149 

Vandersteen 2CE Signature 

$1549 

vandersteen.com 

This classic three-way floorstander 

delivers excellent top-to-bottom 

balance and an engaging musicality. 

Moreover, Vandersteen’s baffle-less, 

time-and-phase-coherent design can 

suggest the spatial focus usually heard 

with planars. It benefits from bi-wiring 

and should be placed away from walls. 

Careful attention must also be paid to 

adjusting the back-tilt via the optional 

stands. 

Reviewed by Shane Buettner, 

Issue 139 

Definitive Technology 

BP7004 

$1598 

definitivetech.com 

DefTech’s BP7004 features bipolar driver arrays 

(identical sets of forward- and rear-facing 

drivers) and a powered subwoofer section 

built around a 10" woofer and two 10" passive 

radiators. The sound is big and tonally wellbalanced, 

with open, warm mids and highs, a 

well-defined bass that gives nothing away to 

outboard subs, and dynamics to beat the band. 

Reviewed by Jerry Sommers, Issue 148 

Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a 

$1599 

acousticsounds.com 

Like the original Quad ESL, the BBC LS3/5a is 

the speaker that refuses to die. Though the original 

KEF drivers are no longer made, that didn’t stop 

Doug Stirling from manufacturing it anew, and 

its magical midrange, gloriously rich and luscious, 

and storied musicality are back. Still no deep bass, 

and headbangers and other loudness freaks are 

likewise advised to keep moving. But those who 

know what instruments and voices really sound 

like—or want to learn—will fall in love all over 

again or for the first time. 

PS (review forthcoming) 


Quad 22L 

$1600 

quad-hifi.uk.co 

According to our reviewer, the 

22L “comes closer to my beloved 

electrostats than any other full-range 

speakers with dynamic drivers I’ve 

heard under $2k.” Strengths include 

excellent lateral imaging, vivid and 

three-dimensional soundstaging, 

very low distortion and coloration, 

and timbral accuracy that make 

for an overall sense of musical 

“rightness.” Build-quality is stunning, 

too. For even more dynamic oomph 

and deep bass extension, add Quad’s 

L-series subwoofer. 

Reviewed by JH, Issue 156 

DALI IKON 6 

$1600 

dali-usa.com 

If power, substance, and clarity are 

important qualities to you, the DALI 

IKON 6 should be on your very short list. 

This speaker is easy to drive, effortlessly 

delivers the goods dynamically, and has 

a smooth overall balance. The midrange 

and treble are a touch forward, so match 

electronics with care. The IKON’s 

$1600 price may be modest, but it is 

a substantial floorstander that never 

sounds small in any negative way. 

Reviewed by Robert E. Greene, Issue 

164 

Magnepan MG 1.6 

$1775 

magenpan.com 

Magnepan’s MG 1.6 is simply one of the great 

high-end speaker values. Its bass is well defined 

and tuneful down to a respectable 40Hz; its 

highs are sweet and a bit soft; its 

mids are magical. With its overall 

coherence, transient speed, and 

wide-open soundstage, this 

moderately priced Maggie is a 

music lover’s delight. It needs 

space and power, however, to 

sound its best. 

Reviewed by Jonathan Valin, 

Issue 124 

PSB Platinum M2 

$1999 


The Platinum M2 shines in its 

ability to reproduce the weight, 

majesty, and complexity of every 

kind of music. Tonally, the 

speaker is sure-of-foot through 

the midrange and well into the 

midbass. Highs are extended and 

neck-snappingly quick. When 

pushed too hard, however, 

the M2 betrays a trace of port 

overhang and some dryness from 

its aluminum tweeter. 


$2000–$3000 

Usher CP-6311 

$2100 


The Usher 6311 is a two-way, 

time-and-phase-aligned bassreflex 

tower offering smooth 

and extended highs, a clear, open 

midrange, and solid bass down to 

the upper-30Hz region. It can play 

loudly without losing composure, 

is dynamically responsive, and 

images with a delightful sense of 

focus. For best bass clarity, load each speaker’s 

damping chamber with lead shot, and position 

the 6311s well away from walls. 

Reviewed by CM, AVgM, Issue 6 

B&W 704 

$2200 

bwspeakers.com 

Clarity and control are chief among this 2½way, 

vented floorstander’s sonic virtues, thanks 

to refinements derived from B&W’s acclaimed 

Nautilus 800 Series. Some may prefer more 

weight in the bottom end, but the 704’s limited 

LF extension (40Hz) is more than compensated 

for by performance that is remarkably quick, 

solid, and well-defined. A great match with both 

tube and solid-state amplification. 

Reviewed by Sue Kraft, Issue 147 

Totem Hawk 

$2450 

totemacoustic.com 

An overachiever at this 

price that communicates 

the soul and spirit of music, 

the Hawk has excellent 

tonal balance, tremendous 

presence, and prodigious 

soundstaging. As with 

other Totem loudspeakers, 

the Hawk trades a bit 

of bass extension for 

extraordinary midrange 

transparency and resolution. 

Lowish sensitivity 

(86dB) suggests use with 

higher-powered amps. 

Reviewed by Peter 

Braverman, Issue 139


Von Schweikert VR 2 

$2495 

vonschweikert.com 

A transmission-line tower featuring three 

forward-facing drivers plus a rear-firing 

“ambience-recovery” driver, the VR-2 offers 

deeply extended (mid-20Hz) bass, a midrange 

and treble whose clarity scales upward with 

that of associated electronics, and lively and 

expressive dynamics. When used judiciously, 

the ambience-recovery driver helps add depth 

to the soundstage. For finest results, install lead 

shot in the damping chambers and experiment 

with positioning. 

Reviewed by CM, AVguide.com 

Harbeth HL Compact 7 ES-2 

$2695 

harbeth.co.uk 

This smallish two-way box speaker features 

Harbeth’s unique midrange driver (made of 

proprietary “RADIAL” material) that reduces 

materials-based coloration to exceedingly low 

levels. Midrange clarity and neutrality are top 

class (vocals are amazing), 

and anti-diffraction grilles 

bring the sound surprisingly 

“out of the box.” Powerful 

solid-state amplification will 

give more robust dynamics 

than you might expect. 

Conventional looks, but 

magical sound. 

Reviewed by REG, Issue 110 

Gallo Nucleus 

Reference 3.1 

$2995 ($3895 with optional 

subwoofer amp) 

roundsound.com 

Now in a slightly improved 

.1 configuration, the Nucleus 

offers some of the most 

focused imaging and threedimensional 

soundstaging 

around. The transition 

from midrange to treble is 

smooth, and bass is clear and 

articulate, reaching down to 

mid-30Hz. Gallo also offers 

a 250Wpc supplemental 

subwoofer amp that co-drives 

the woofer along with your 

main amplifier, pushing bass 

response to 22Hz. The Nucleus 

is at its best with amplifiers 

of 100 watts or more, 

though lower-powered 

amps can also work— 

especially if you use the 

subwoofer amp. 



Spendor S8e 

$2999 

qsandd.com 

Though neither the largest nor most expensive 

model in Spendor’s S Series, the S8e just might 

be the range’s best-sounding model. An heir 

to some of the great BBC monitor speakers 

of the past, the S8e offers glorious midrange 

and treble response, wide, deep soundstaging 

with excellent image height, plus “clean, clear, 

dramatic bass, even low bass.” But the S8e’s 

most compelling characteristic is perhaps the 

elusive and profoundly satisfying quality of 

musical “completeness.” 

Reviewed by SR, Issue 155 

$3000–$5000 

Sonus Faber Concerto Domus 

$3495 

sumikoaudio.net 

Sonus and “slam” are comfortable bedfellows 

in this deceptive two-way floorstander that 

integrates old-world quality with modern 

dynamics and extension. Despite slight softening 

of transient information, the Concerto Domus 

scores big in dynamic liveliness and low-end 

oomph—necessities for a dual-purpose speaker 

that straddles the fence between stereo and 

home theater. Incapable of sounding a sterile 

note and blessed with a seductive overall warmth 

and sweetness, Concerto Domus is one of the 

easiest listening speaker experiences around. 


Vandersteen 3A Signature 

$3495 


Like all Vandersteens, the 3A Signature is 

time-and-phase accurate. Its driver complement 

features the patented midrange and tweeter used 

in the vaunted Vandersteen 5. The 3A Signature 

has a relaxed presentation, is musically 

seductive, and will appeal to those who 

want to forget about the sound and 

enjoy the music, though it does trade 

off some dynamic contrast and 

midrange resolution for its overall 

ability to involve the listener. 

Excellent bass extension combined 

with a good balance between bass 

warmth and articulation round out 

this outstanding effort. 

Reviewed by RH, Issue 122 

Legacy Victoria LE 

legacy-audio.com 

$3498 

The stand-mounted, three-way 

Victoria combines the classic 

virtues of a mini-monitor 

with the bass extension 

and weight of many floorstanders. With solid 

extension down to about 45Hz, this is an 

extremely quick, clean, and articulate speaker. 

Its ribbon tweeter has extraordinary spatial 

precision and razor-sharp imaging. Tiny nuances 

are easily resolved, contributing to a feeling of 

focus and clarity. 


Coincident Partial Eclipse 

$3499 

coincidentspeaker.com 

A three-way floorstander, the Partial shares 

many of the same sonic virtues that earned its 

big brother, the Total Eclipse, a 2001 Golden 

Ear Award. The midband is slightly warm, 

with highs that are gloriously open, tight, and 

extended, and bass that is well-controlled. 

Mirror-image side-firing 8" woofers can be 

positioned facing in or out, necessitating 

some experimentation for proper room setup. 

An especially synergistic match with higherpowered 

OTL tube designs, it mates nicely with 

solid-state amplification too. 

Reviewed by SK, Issue 146 

Canton Vento 807DC 

$3500 

cantonusa.com 

Our reviewer initially feared the Canton Vento 

807 DC might be “another German speaker 

that fits the stereotype; a forward-sounding, 

metal-dome-based system with highs that can 

take your ears off.” But in time the 807 DC won 

him over in a big way with its combination of 

sonic purity and speed, transparency, pinpoint 

imaging, extended highs, coherence, and 

neutrality. This speaker will appeal to listeners 

who prize sonic accuracy above sweetness. 

Reviewed by JH in Issue 156


Von Schweikert Audio 

VR-4 jr 

$3995 

vonschweikert.com 

The VR-4 jr has a number of 

endearing sonic attributes, the 

most notable being its bass 

performance, which is tight, welldefined, 

and gutsy. In addition, the 

midrange is open, the soundstage 

superbly three-dimensional 

The rear-firing ambience mid/ 

tweeter adds considerable spatial 

depth, presenting the illusion of 

“round” images expanding in all 

directions. 


Acoustic Zen 

Technologies Adagio 

$4300 

acousticzen.com 

The Adagio’s strength is a rare degree of clarity 

that spans its entire range. Elements of its 

design—transmission-line mid/bass enclosures, 

modified circular ribbon drivers—contribute 

not only to the speaker’s overall lucidity, but 

to its seamlessness, tonal accuracy, sparkle and 

sweet detail in the highs, richness and nuance in 

the mids, and depth and detail in the bass. The 

soundstage is satisfyingly wide, deep, and high. 

Presented with any kind of music, this speaker 

is generous with the goosebumps. 


DALI Helicon 400 

$4300 

dali-usa.com 

This premium two-way tower is as beautiful 

to look at as it is to listen to. Expect a yin-like 

warmth, with ultra-clear transients, excellent 

low-level resolving power, full-bodied bass, 

and, courtesy of DALI’s unique ribbonsupertweeter/soft-dome-tweeter 

module, some 

of the most open treble in this or nearly any 

class. Due in part to its rigidly braced cabinet, 

the Helicon is exceptionally uncolored, but a 

slight midbass bloom mandates careful setup in 

medium-sized rooms. 


Thiel CS2.4 

$4400 

thielaudio.com 

This superbly crafted three-way floorstander 

features a unique concentric tweeter/midrange 

configuration and an oval passive radiator. 

The results are pinpoint images, an ultra-wide 

soundstage, and nearly realistic orchestral 

scaling. Dynamics, both micro and macro, are 

invigorating. The CS2.4 is both analytical and 

musical, with a sweet yet bright treble balance 


requiring quality amplification and 

attention to setup. Because of the 

speaker’s first-order crossovers, 

Thiel’s minimum recommended 

listening distance should be adhered 

to for best driver integration. 


Magnepan MG 3.6 

$4450 

magnepan.com 

Yet another great deal from 

Magnepan, this large ribbon/quasiribbon 

dipole gives you much of the 

sound of its big brother, the 20.1, for 

considerably less moolah. As with 

the 20.1, be sure to bring a high-power, 

high-quality amp to the party, and make 

sure you have sufficient space to let these 

things “breathe” or the ribbon tweeter will start 

to glare. 

Reviewed by JV, Issue 121 

Hyperion HPS-938 

$4500 

hyperionsound.com 

A small, three-way bass-reflex model, the 

Hyperion’s separate tweeter/midrange and 

woofer cabinets house proprietary drivers that 

are among the best this reviewer has heard. The 

midrange and woofer’s flat-top covers, sound 

basins, and sound ring are connected into 

what is effectively one body, which vibrates to 

emit sound. Skillfully mated with a short horntype 

tweeter, the HPS-938 offers outstanding 

detail, low distortion, holographic imaging, and 

stunning dynamic range. While the Hyperion 

ultimately falls short of the best at the frequency 

extremes, this speaker system is thrilling, natural 

sounding, and easy to drive. 

Reviewed by JH, AVgM, Issue 4 

Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor 

$4845 (includes dedicated stand) 


A stand-mounted two-way version of Sonus 

Faber’s floorstanding Cremona, the Auditor 

shares many of that model’s virtues—warmth, 

coherence, sweet extended treble, and a 

seductive midrange—without the Cremona’s 

dynamic range and bass extension. The Auditor 

likes to be well into a room and its tilt and toein 

are critical. Although small, it can play quite 

loudly and handle a fair amount of power, be 

it tube or solid-state (we recommend 50W 

minimum). And beautiful though they look, 

remove the stringed grilles if you want to hear 

this elegant Italian speaker at its best. 

Reviewed by WG, Issue 146 

$5000–$10,000 

ATC SCM 20-2 

$5000 

atc.gb.net 

ATC’s latest 20 Series model has been improved 

in virtually every way, and is less obviously a 

compact speaker than ever before. Thanks to 

the robust composite construction and nonparallel 

sidewalls, midbass coloration has been 

all but vanquished. Derived from the SCM 

70 flagship, the soft-dome tweeter raises the 

performance bar for transparency and resolving 

power, especially at lower levels. With only 83dB 

sensitivity, don’t scrimp on power—or robust 

stands to support 50+ pounds. 


Paradigm Reference 

Signature S8 

$5400 

paradigm.com 

The tall, beautifully-made S8 floorstander is a 

three-way, six-driver design whose hallmarks 

are very high resolution, superb midrange 

openness, and first-rate bass that extends down 

to the upper 20Hz range. First-time listeners are 

often wowed by the S8’s midrange articulacy 

and its ability to preserve exquisite bass pitch 

definition, even when playing at high volume 

levels. Highs are extremely clean, though faint 

traces of steeliness occasionally rear their heads. 

Imaging and soundstaging are good, but not 

great. In most respects, though, the S8s sound 

much like top-tier speakers, but at a more 

accessible price. 

CM (review forthcoming) 

Audio Physic Padua RR 

$5750 

audiophysic.com 

The Padua has elegant looks and a refined, 

precise, and largely uncolored sound. It exudes 

care, refinement, and dedication to good design


and quality manufacturing. That 

said, it displays a lack of fullness in 

the midbass and requires careful 

placement, which means how 

you react to its overall balance 

will depend on how the speaker 

interacts with your listening 

room. 


Revel Performa F52 

$6498 

revelspeakers.com 

A near paradigm of tonal 

neutrality with muscular dynamic 

capability, unflappable composure 

at insane levels, and superior 

construction quality and finish. 

Capable of playing all musical genres 

with class and confidence. Some may 

quibble about a minor forward tilt, or a 

treble that could use a bit more bloom, 

or a shallow soundstage, but you’ll need 

to exercise great care if you intend to spend 

more dough, because this is one of the great 

values to come down the high-end pike. 


Quad 988 and 989 

$6650 and $8650 

iagamerica.com 

The 988, latest incarnation of Peter Walker’s 

classic electrostatic is, from around 40Hz 

out, neutral, coherent, linear, and transparent, 

with lower coloration and distortion than its 

predecessor. It will not generate the deepest 

bass, but in normal-sized or smaller rooms 

it will play at natural levels with a purity and 

accuracy that spoil you for other designs. The 

larger 989 retains most of the same virtues 

but will play louder and go deeper in the bass. 

The principal sacrifice is a certain projection 

in the upper midrange and lower highs that 

undermines the peerless neutrality of the 

original. 

Reviewed by PS, Issues 130 and 126 

Gradient Revolution Active 

$7645 

mayaudio.com 

With its unusual dipole bass and forward-firing 

midrange and tweeter configuration, Gradient’s 

latest Revolution—with built-in amplification (a 

passive version is also available)—reproduces 

the original acoustics of the recording venue 

remarkably well. It sounds not like a box or a 

panel or anything else except a perfect point 

source. Instruments show their own colors 

with little enclosure-induced overlay, though a 

little more midrange relative to the treble gives it 

extra body, making it somewhat forgiving. 



B&W 803D 

$8000 

Usher Dancer 

$7735 


What happens when you turn 

loose a passionate, quality- and 

value-conscious Taiwanese 

manufacturer and world-class 

American speaker designer 

(Dr. Joe D’Appolito) to 

build a $7000 speaker An 

overachieving floorstander 

poised to eat any number of 

high-end sacred cows for lunch. 

The Dancer produces a big, 

finely focused, high-resolution 

sound that is dynamically alive. 

Bass power, extension, and clarity 

are very good, too. The overall 

sonics are reminiscent of Wilson’s 

Sophia or WATT/Puppy speakers, 

but at a fraction of the price. 



While the midrange of the 803D 

retains B&W’s hallmark clarity and 

transient speed, the new diamond 

tweeter is far smoother and less 

sibilant, yet also airier and more 

detailed than previous designs. 

And while the bass of earlier 

Nautilus speakers was generally on 

the dry side, and always “enough” 

but not copious, the bass of the 

803Ds is considerably faster and 

more accurate, and the degree 

and extension is now “enough 

plus some.” 

Reviewed by Manoj Motwani, 

Issue 156 

Sonus Faber 

Cremona 

$8995 


This gorgeous looking and 

sounding Italian floorstander 

is warm, airy, and seductive. 

It excels at resolving low-level 

information, is dynamically 

quite nimble as well as forceful, 

and presents a holographic 

soundstage. And though the 

Cremona is a “musical” as 

opposed to entirely “neutral” 

design, it is very revealing 

of source material and 

components. 

Reviewed by WG, 

Issue 143 

Krell Resolution 2 

$9500 

krellonline.com 

A highly revealing speaker, Krell’s well-named 

Resolution 2 let our reviewer “hear each note so 

crisply—the tone, timing, and slight hesitation 

or rush, so distinctly—that I can follow the 

thinking that’s gone into the musicians’ choices, 

the patterns they’re forming. This isn’t about 

counting all the angels on a pin; it’s about sensing 

the player blowing the horn, the singer belting 

the notes, the human touch on the music.” 

Reviewed by Fred Kaplan, Issue 151 

$10,000–$20,000 

Martin Logan Summit 

$10,000 

martinlogan.com 

This elegant hybrid cone-electrostatic stands 

five-feet tall and sports two 10" woofers. Its 

sound is almost scarily three-dimensional, with 

a lively, life-like top end, a fast, tight, articulate 

low end, and the kind of midrange that has 

been getting people hooked on electrostats for 

the past 50 years. Its one drawback is limited 

vertical dispersion. If you stand up 

while listening, the speaker 

isn’t quite the same animal, 

particularly in the upper 

frequencies. Otherwise, the 

MartinLogan Summit is a 

fantastically beautiful and 

seductive product. 

Reviewed by Barry Willis, 

Issue 160 

PBN Montana EPS2 

$10,000 

pbnaudio.com 

Though it requires an 

almost painfully long break 

in period—fresh from the 

crates it sounds lean and ultracool—once 

it gets cooking 

the PBN Montana delivers 

a fantastic sense of dynamic 

attack, a rich, enveloping 

midband, a sweet top register, 

a bottom end that moves some 

serious air, and a large, floating 

soundstage. Patience is more 

than its own reward. 

Reviewed by BW, Issue 164 

Rockport 

Technologies Mira 

$13,500 

rockporttechnologies.com 

The Mira is at once seductively 

warm and rich, yet it gives 

up little in terms of detail


and openness. Perhaps the Mira’s most notable 

strength, because it usually comes with only the 

most costly designs, is a dynamic energy in the 

upper bass and lower treble regions that brings 

tricky instruments such as drums, bass, brass, and 

strings to vivid life. The bottom end has a lot of 

power, along with good texture and detail, while 

the highs are airy, extended, and well integrated. 


Wilson Sophia 2 

$13,990 

wilsonaudio.com 

Although not formally reviewed, we’ll give 

the Sophia 2 a provisional recommendation 

based on the predecessor’s extraordinary sound 

quality and value, along with RH’s audition of 

the newer model at a dealer showroom. The 

Sophia 2 builds on the original’s strengths— 

extraordinary transient fidelity, deep bass 

extension, a huge spatial presentation, and 

a cabinet that contributes little sound of its 

own—with a smoother midrange and treble 

and even greater resolution. 

RH (review forthcoming) 

Vandersteen Model 5A 

$14,700 


A time-and-phase correct speaker, the 5A includes 

a built-in powered sub with room correction that 

tailors in-room response, a sophisticated “baffleless” 

cabinet, Vandersteen’s patented openframe 

midrange, and an improved tweeter that 

eliminates backwave reflections. The result is an 

ultra-high-resolution speaker that’s coherent and 

musically engaging from top to bottom, with the 

kind of convincing depth of imaging that only 

time-and-phase correct designs can provide. The 

5A may not play as loudly as some designs, but 

offers superior performance in other respects. A 

relative bargain among statement loudspeakers. 

Reviewed by SB, Issue 139 

Legacy Whisper 

$14,998 

legacy-audio.com 

The Legacy Whisper is all about musical 

engagement, not the analytical dissection of a 

recording. A five-foot-tall, 200-pound hunk of 

Wurlitzeresque wood sculpture, the ten-driver 

Whisper excels at low-level resolution, transient 

delivery, and dynamic contrasts (large and small), 

though its frequency extremes are somewhat soft. 

Reviewed by Anthony H. Cordesman, 

Issue 135 

Sound Lab M-1a 

$16,800 

soundlab-speakers.com 

A huge electrostat, artfully subdivided 

into angled strips and panels to produce a 


hemispherical wavelaunch and reduce “drumhead” 

resonances, the M-1 has the biggest 

soundfield, far and away the deepest bass (true 

20Hz extension), and most lifelike dynamic 

range of any ’stat—in addition to the traditional 

virtues of ’stats (gorgeous tone color, lightning 

transient response, single-driver coherence, and 

phenomenal inner detail). The M-1 can sound 

overblown in the bottom octaves if placement 

and amplification aren’t carefully minded and, 

like all ’stats, it is not the last word in “body.” 


Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation 

$19,495 

verityaudio.com 

They take a long time to set up properly and 

an extremely long time to break in (a few 

hundred hours before the woofer tightens 

up), but these speakers disappear to a degree 

that Fred Kaplan thought only mini-monitors 

could. Fundamentals and overtones are 

pure, uncolored, and detailed; the crossover 

is seamless; and dynamics are captured with 

effortless agility. Our caveat concerns integrating 

the otherwise terrific bass with the rest of the 

range—until the speaker fully breaks in there is 

some discontinuity between the two. 

Reviewed by FK, Issue 160 

B&W 800D 

$20,000 

$20,000 and above 


“Wholeness” and “seamlessness” were the 

qualities that most struck reviewer Sue Kraft 

while auditioning B&W’s diamond-tweeterstudded 

800D. “While high frequencies were 

the utmost in smooth, effortless, finely detailed, 

extended, and exceptionally clear, I was more 

taken by how meticulously they were woven 

into the fabric of the music.” The 800D’s 

other attributes include world-class imaging, 

high resolution, a taut, well-defined bass, and 

unruffled response with very loud music. 


Focus Audio Hyperion Master 3 

$20,870 

Hailing from our neighbors to the north, this is 

one gorgeous-to-the-extreme loudspeaker with 

a beautifully fleshed-out, lush, and life-sized 

midrange. Image lines are perhaps a bit diffuse 

versus the pinpoint accuracy of a speaker like 

the B&W 800D, giving the Master 3 a warmer, 

more forgiving sound. Dynamics and detail 

are also in abundance, with close to full-range 

bass response reaching down to 25Hz. Dual 9" 

woofers are flab-free and fleet-footed, while top 

to bottom tonal balance is also worthy of note. 

If it’s all about the midrange, then it’s all about 

the Master 3. 

SK (review forthcoming) 

Kharma Ceramique Reference 

Monitor 3.2 

$21,000 

gttgroup.com 

This diminutive two-way floorstander generates 

a huge, utterly transparent soundstage and a 

simply ethereal blend of tonal beauty, inner 

detail, and dynamic nuance. Surprisingly robust 

in the bass (down to a rock-solid 40Hz), the 

RM3.2 is a great choice for the audiophile 

looking for big-speaker sound in a small, elegant 

package (or for a smallish room). 


MAGICO Mini 

$22,000 with stands ($16,500 for speakers 

alone) 

magico.net 

JV’s new references, the beautifully made Minis 

from perfectionist speaker-builder Alon Wolf 

are triumphant examples of two applied arts— 

industrial and acoustical design. Though limited 

to about 40Hz in the bass, the two-way Minis


are everywhere else models of limitlessness— 

of what is possible when price is no object— 

with standard-setting resolution, neutrality, and 

soundstaging. Capable of the most complete 

disappearing act JV has yet heard and a dynamic 

range and scale that simply belie their size 

and driver complement, the Minis redefine 

“transparency to the source.” 


Wilson WATT/Puppy 

(updated to 8) 

$27,900 


Another provisional recommendation based 

on the WATT/Puppy 7’s virtues and Wilson’s 

long history of incremental improvements (or 

revolutionary improvements, in the case of the 

WATT/Puppy System 6 to System 7 upgrade). 

The best-selling audiophile loudspeaker over 

$10k, the WATT/Puppy has achieved iconic 

status. 

WP 7 reviewed by RH, Issue 143 

Sonus-Faber Stradivari 

$40,000 



These gorgeous numbers from Sonus-Faber’s 

Franco Serblin have some of the most beautiful 

string tone JV has heard in a loudspeaker. Sweet 

and rich on classical music, voice, and small-scale 

jazz and folk, they are almost as lovely on largescale 

music thanks to their extraordinarily deep, 

full, well-defined bass and authoritative midbass. 

Detailed and dynamic from top to bottom, they 

are a bit to the warm side of neutral and will 

need a large room to fully “disappear,” but are 

not picky when it comes to amplification. 


DALI Megaline 

$42,000 

dali-usa.com 

This large, elegant speaker offers an all but 

unique combination of virtues—power and 

scale on one hand and purity and resolution 

on the other, with distortion lower than 

electrostatics and a dynamic capacity no 

electrostatic ever dreamed of. The line-source 

radiation pattern eliminates floor bounce and 

makes the Megalines disappear from side-toside 

and front-to-back. Together with ribbon 

tweeters that go on seemingly forever, bass 

that extends solidly down to well below the 

bottom of the orchestral range, and an even 

tonal balance, the Megalines make for the most 

convincing reproduction of orchestral music 

REG has encountered. They also superbly 

reproduce more intimate music. 


Kharma Mini Exquisite 

$45,000 

gttgroup.com 

Roughly the same size as Kharma’s 3.2 listed 

above, the Mini Exquisite is one of the great 

speakers, as well it should be for a 2-way that 

commands this kind of dough. Cost aside, 

with its complex and costly cabinetry, superior 

ceramic mid/bass driver, and glorious syntheticdiamond 

tweeter, the Mini will make you swoon. 

Assuming, that is, that your priorities include 

stunning coherence, transparency and detail, a 

notably large and very dimensional soundstage, 

ethereal highs, a remarkably natural midrange 

and dynamic scale, and a tonal warmth and 

beauty to die for. All in a package that is not only 

gorgeous but also relatively diminutive. 

WG (review forthcoming) 

Wilson MAXX 2 

$45,000 


A stunning achievement in loudspeaker design, 

the MAXX 2 redefines what’s possible in 

music reproduction in the areas of bottomend 

resolution, nuance, and finesse. This highly 

articulate bass presentation is backed up with 

the ability to effortlessly deliver massive dynamic 

impact and subterranean extension. Every 

other aspect of this speaker’s performance is 

exemplary, particularly midrange transparency, 

soundstaging, and the remarkable ability to 

sound small on intimate music and huge on 

large-scale works. Robert Harley’s reference. 


Ascendo M 

$46,000 

ascendo.de 

The duckbilled platypus of loudspeakers, the 

Ascendo M attempts to combine a ribbon 

tweeter (housed in a separate box that is 

ingeniously time-aligned to your exact listening 

position) with an acoustic-suspension mid/ 

woof and a bandpass subwoofer that goes 

down to a legitimate 25Hz. The amazing thing 

is how well it succeeds in mating these disparate 

technologies. Designer Jürgen Scheuring 

modeled his Ms on the sound of the Quads, 

and damned if they don’t sound like Quads, 

with much better high-end and low, and much 

better dynamics. 

JV (review forthcoming) 

MBL 101 E 

$46,900 

mbl.com 

MBL’s stunning-looking, 

four-way, omnidirectional 

Radialstrahler References 

simply do it all: a treble 

like Maggie’s ribbons, a 

midrange like SoundLab’s 

’stats, bass like Nearfield’s 

eight 18" subwoofers, 

soundstaging and coherence 

like Kharma’s 

CRM 3.2s, dynamics like 

Avantgarde’s Trios, and 

a “disappearing act” 

second only to the 

MAGICO Mini. To 

top all this off, the 

101 Es have more 

lifelike presence 

than any speaker 

JV has heard in 

several decades—actually 

sounding “fool-you” real at select moments 

on select cuts—and are more convincingly 

stereophonic listened to off-axis than anything 

else around. JV’s other reference. 


Avantgarde TrioCompact with 

Basshorn 

$71,940 

avantgarde-usa.com 

For almost a decade now, the Trios have been 

the best horn loudspeakers on the market. Now, 

in combination with Avantgarde’s phenomenal 

new Basshorn subwoofer, the Trio has won over 

even hard sells, like TAS EIC Robert Harley. 

Incomparably fast, powerful, big, and beautiful, 

the Trio/Basshorns take some work to set


up—and great electronics to drive them—but 

when everything is right they are world-class 

reproducers of music. Best in very large rooms, 

though, paradoxically, they sometimes fare well 

in very small ones. With these speakers, the key 

to happiness is a proper blend of the bass. 


Rockport Technologies 

Hyperion 

$91,500 

rockporttechnologies.com 

Though they aren’t the world’s best soundstagers 

(for which, see the MAGICO Minis above) 

and don’t “disappear” like the MBL 101 Es, 

the Rockport Hyperions earn laurels for just 

about everything else—gorgeous tone color, 

tremendous dynamic ease and authority, natural 

instrumental size and scale, and superb treble 

and bass extension. You need a lot of room 

for these babies and a lot of money, but, if 

you have the space and the moolah, they will 

take you about as close as you can come to the 

absolute sound. 


Subwoofers 

PSB SubSonic 5i 

$549 


At this point no one should be surprised at what 

this Canadian speaker company can do in the 

lower-price range. Even so, the performance of 

this econo-sub is semi-unbelievable. Extension, 

dynamic slam, and good musicality from this 

10" bass-reflex design make it the perfect match 

for misers with the Midas touch. 

Reviewed by NG, TPV, Issue 48, and CM, TPV, 

Issue 69 


REL Q-108E 

$749 


The newest and smallest sub from England’s 

REL is a champ in its category. Though a 

mere 10" cube, the Q-108E is capable of 

reproducing information down to 20Hz with 

power and definition. A plethora of hook-up 

options allows for both line- and high-level (in 

series with the amplifier) connections, meaning 

you can optimize this little guy for both hometheater 

and music use—simultaneously. 

Reviewed by WG, TPV Issue 49 

Epos ELS Active Subwoofer 

$800 

epos-acoustic.com 

Designed by Mike Creek (of Creek amplifier 

renown), the Epos ELS Active Subwoofer goes 

lower with better articulation and control than 

others in its price range. Unlike many subs, 

the Epos is an audiophile-pleaser that puts out 

true low bass (without a deceptive, midbass 

bump) and sounds “so inherently clear that it 

leaves competitors sounding sluggish and 

murky by comparison.” 


Definitive Technology 

SuperCube I 

$1199 

definitivetech.com 

Flexibility, extension, and affordability—it 

doesn’t get much better than that. With dual 10" 

passive radiators, the SuperCube I mixes the 

precision of a sealed-box sub with the additional 

oomph of a ported enclosure, and reaches 

down to the mid-20Hz range at extreme SPLs. 

A 1500-watt amplifier guarantees sufficient 

power. 

Reviewed by NG, TPV Issue 42 

James EMB-1000 

$1595–$1895 

jamesloudspeaker.com 

Using a clever dual-woofer technique, the EMB- 

1000 delivers a huge amount of extremely clean 

bass and maintains its composure even at high 

playback levels. Not only is it a great theater sub, 

the EMB-1000 is outstanding with music—tight 

and articulate, with exceptional clarity and detail. 

An amazing product and a great bargain. 

Reviewed by RH, TPV Issue 48 

REL Britannia B3 sub 

$1995 


The ultimate self-effacing team player that never 

imposes colorations on the music, the B3 is 

divinely unbox-like. At all reasonable levels port 

noise and overhang have been banished. Only 

low-pass filtering is on tap, so make sure your 

main speakers are up to the task. Set up with 

care, the B3 earns the rarest of compliments— 

you’ll never even know it’s there. 


Thiel SS2 SmartSub and SI 1 

Integrator 

$4900 and $4400 

thielaudio.com 

Five years in the making, Thiel’s Integrator/ 

SmartSub is the first subwoofer that enables 

consistent integration by design. As such, it 

is a landmark in the history of subwoofer 

development. In its present state, the 

Integrator in particular lacks a few features and 

the last ounce of transparency. Yet no other 

subwoofer system brings so much needed 

structure to the integration process, while 

affording such plentiful and powerful means 

of adapting the sub to its surroundings. Rigid 

yet liberating, the Thiel system will reward 

attentive listeners. 

Reviewed by Alan Taffel, Issue 154 

Audio Physic Minos 

$6995 

audiophysic.com 

The Audio Physic Minos comes close to being 

the perfect subwoofer, albeit at a hefty price. 

It has truly deep bass extension, to well below 

20Hz, can deliver enormous output levels, and 

is exceptionally low in distortion. Its sound is 

smooth and non-resonant, with superb pitch 

definition and all but flawless transient behavior. 

Moreover, its elegant woodwork makes it at 

home in any décor. 

Reviewed by REG, TPV Issue 42 

Krell Master Reference 

$40,000 

krell.com 

Let’s face it—you’d have to be nuts to spend 

$40,000 on a subwoofer. (And, BTW, you only 

get one of these monsters for your 40Gs.) But, 

assuming you are nuts, and assuming you’re 

not fazed by the sheer girth of this 2600W, 

twin-15", servo-woofered, 450-pound chunk 

of near-solid aluminum, then you’re gonna 

have a hard time finding more powerful, more 

coherent bass for music recordings and hometheater 

soundtracks. A sui generis masterpiece 

that, because of its outrageous cost and size, 

is likely to be heard only by a lucky few—and 

owned by an even luckier fewer. 

JV


Power 

Amplifiers 

NAD C 272 

$699 

Under $1000 

nadelectronics.com 

Every few years, we encounter certain NAD 

products that seem to have that extra ounce 

of sonic magic, and the C 272 is one of them. 

At 150Wpc, it offers the current needed to 

handle difficult speaker loads, and sounds 

more powerful than its specifications would 

suggest. The C 272 is well-balanced, with good 

resolution, three-dimensionality, and an overall 

warmth and robustness on most types of 

music. 


Parasound Halo A23 

$850 

parasound.com 

Parasound’s A23 isn’t the last word in low-end 

authority, and it’s a bit cool in the midrange, but 

what it lacks in oomph it makes up for in finesse 

and pitch definition. Moreover, this reasonably 

priced amp is musically quite involving. 


$1000–$2000 

PrimaLuna Prologue 5 

$1295 

upscaleaudio.com 

The 36Wpc vacuum tube-powered Prologue 

5 sounds more authoritative than its rating 

would lead you to expect, and offers a warm, 

rich sound, yet really does not sound “tubey” 

in any traditional sense. Instead, it produces 

“true, clean, deep, tight bass,” offers grand 

soundstaging, and delivers “the precision of 

the best solid-state units, plus—like vinyl—an 

additional musical soupçon.” A synergistic 

match with the companion Prologue 3 preamp. 


Quad 909 

$1499 

iag.america.com 

Its sound quality sets a benchmark for its 

size and price. Its midrange, in particular, is 

exceptional. Up and down the scale, this latest 

iteration of Peter Walker’s patented “current 


dumping” circuit displays an ease, relaxation, 

and naturalness that sweep considerations of 

mere hi-fi aside. 

Reviewed by PS, Issue 128 

Rotel RB 1090 

$1999 

rotel.com 

Voluptuous, yin-like, and ever so slightly laidback 

in character, the RB-1090 is capable of extracting 

the lowest rumblings. But it also extracts highfrequency 

information like a hummingbird sips 

nectar. Transparency might be improved, but 

for sheer orchestral weight, the 1090 still has the 

power to make it one of the best pound-forpound 

deals in the high end. 


PrimaLuna 

Prologue Six 

monoblocks 

$2000 


These beautifully built, 

affordable, and “hasslefree” 

70Wpc monoblocks 

will alter your preconceptions 

about tube gear. With their 

autobias and soft-start features, 

they are very easy to operate and maintain, 

and their reliability approaches that of solidstate. 

Indeed, their transient quickness and 

ability to drive difficult loads may fool you 

into thinking you’re listening to a very good 

hybrid. Yet with four very musical EL34s per 

chassis, these amps still have that wonderful 

tube magic. Veteran tube rollers can tailor the 

sound somewhat, yet music lovers are likely to 

just get lost in the music. 

Reviewed by JH in this issue 

$2000–$3000 

Channel Islands Audio 

D-200 monoblocks 

$2299 

ciaudio.com 

Channel Islands Audio’s well-thought-out and 

carefully executed D-200 Class D monoblock 

amplifiers put out a healthy 200 watts and 

are completely free of the quirks, foibles, 

and reliability issues that sometimes plague 

other Class D designs. Sonically, the D-200s 

offer warm, well-defined midbass, articulate 

midrange and highs, and an overarching quality 

of smoothness. Though some competing 

designs may have somewhat more openness 

and transparency, the D-200’s delicate balance 

of detail and smoothness will attract those 

who like their music straight up, with no undue 

rough edges. 


Audio Research VS55 

$2495 

audioresearch.com 

ARC’s formula is simple: Put the latest circuit 

refinements in a nice-but-not-lavish chassis, 

keep the power output moderate, and price 

within reach of most music lovers. The result: 

the stunning VS55, which delivers ARC’s 

classic sound at an affordable price. It may 

not have enough power for those with lowsensitivity 

loudspeakers (or those wanting 

to rock the house), but when used with the 

appropriate speakers and at sensible volumes, 

it is pure magic. 


Cary Audio Cinema 2 and 

CAD-808 (Rocket 88) 

$2500 and $2750 

caryaudio.com 

Designer Dennis Had’s 

affectionately dubbed “Rocket 

88” is unusual in that there 

is no driver stage. That 

means you’ll need a 

high-output preamp to 

drive it, but, when it is 

so paired, expect a sound 

that Dan Davis said propelled him “to the 

musical bliss we all want from our systems.” 

The Cinema 2 offers outstanding articulation, 

immediacy, and dynamic definition, especially 

in the midrange, without the darkness and 

grain that once seemed to accompany the 

majority of transistor amplifiers. 

Cinema 2 reviewed by WG, Issue 154; CAD- 

808 reviewed by Dan Davis, Issue 139 

NuForce Reference 9 

monoblocks 

$2500 

nuforce.com 

The diminutive Reference 9 monoblocks 

are sophisticated, analog-modulated Class 

D amplifiers that sound like sonic giants, 

with deeply extended and tightly controlled 

bass (with excellent pitch definition), opensounding 

mids, almost shockingly detailed 

highs, and explosive dynamics. But the biggest 

news may be their precise, three-dimensional 

soundstaging. Note: These amps are quite 

sensitive to associated cabling, so choose 

carefully. 

Reviewed by CM, Issue 158


$3000–$5000 

Conrad-Johnson 

MV60SE 

$3500 

conradjohnson.com 

Using four 6550C output tubes, this 60Wpc C-J 

delivers the emotional impact of the real thing. 

Although it lacks the last iota of resolution and 

can get a bit gritty in the treble as it reaches 

its power limits, it has good transparency and 

soundstaging, finely shaded dynamics, thrilling 

low-level detail, and a well-defined top end. 

Above all, it is immediate and involving. 

Reviewed by DD, Issue 145 

Edge G4 

$3575 

edgeamp.com 

A downsized version of Edge’s more costly 

amplifiers, the 100W G4 offers some of the 

same sonic attributes as its more expensive 

brethren—the speed, extension, and control 

one expects from a high-end transistor amp 

without any associated brightness. It has the 

natural timbre and sonic realism we typically 

associate with tubes, coupled with startling 

transparency and holographic imaging. Pace, 

rhythm, and timing freaks will love this thing. 


McIntosh MC275 Series IV 

$3700 

mcintoshlabs.com 

Although the MC275 IV sports a handsome 

retro look, it is in no sense a literal replica of the 

original. No tube amplifier known to PS from this 

period, and few he’s heard since, boast the 275’s 

overall neutrality, transparency, and low noise floor 

(almost like listening to a solid-state amp). 


Audio Research 300.2 

$3995 


ARC calls this a Class-T design (because it uses 

the Tri-Path module), but in a broad sense it is a 


switching amplifier with similarities to Class D 

designs. It has a dynamic liveliness that causes 

drums and plucked instruments like guitars to 

really stand out in the mix, and bass is very well 

defined. Detail is quite good, and the overall sound 

is a bit forward at first—something that goes 

away after a few days of constant play. Imaging is 

somewhat diffuse, but with 300Wpc into 8 ohms, 

and 500 into 4 ohms, its performance is high and 

its price comparatively inexpensive. 

Reviewed by Tom Martin, Issue 164 

Balanced AudioTechnology 

VK-55 

$3995 

balanced.com 

A remarkable amp and terrific value, BAT’s 55- 

watt tube model may not be as revealing as some, 

but it offers a high degree of harmonic, textural, 

rhythmic, and ambient information within the 

context of a musical whole. Tonally, the VK-55 

is a bit warmer than neutral, with a gorgeous, 

well-balanced midrange, an easy, natural top 

end, and quite respectable weight in the bass. A 

3-D soundstage and tight focus round out the 

virtues of this highly musical design. 

Reviewed by SK with WG comment, Issue 

153 

Meridian G57 

$3995 

meridian-usa.com 

Rated at 200Wpc into eight ohms, the G57 

is capable of delivering a full kilowatt, when 

bridged, into four ohms. As with other G Series 

components, the sound is expansive, soothing, 

and relaxing, yet with plenty of moxie when 

needed. The soundstage is impressively 

broad, tall, and deep. And almost as 

gorgeous as the sound is the sleek 

new full-width look, featuring all-metal 

construction along with Meridian’s 

traditional black glass accents. 


$5000–$10,000 

Classé Delta CA-2200 

$5000 

classeaudio.com 

With 200Wpc into 8 ohms and 400Wpc into 

4 ohms, the 2200 delivers effortless, fullybalanced 

power of exceptional control 

and refinement into even the most 

difficult loads. The 2200’s bass, while 

not the deepest, has uncanny pitch and 

timbre. Images and soundstaging are 

well-focused and richly layered; the 

back panel is an installer’s paradise of 

connectivity. (Also available in a fivechannel 

version, the CA-5200.) 


Kharma Matrix MP-150 

monoblocks 

$6800 

kharma.com 

Class D circuitry is the latest craze. Virtually 

every amplifier manufacturer puts out 

a version of it (many based on B&O’s 

ICEpower module, although this Kharma 

amp has been designed in house). The 

amazing thing is that each Class D amp, ICEpowered 

or not, sounds different—each has 

a sonic signature similar to the conventional 

amps in the manufacturer’s line. In Kharma’s 

case, there are no other amps in its line; this 

is its first. Happily, it is a winner, with a topto-bottom 

transparency that allows for a 

very detailed, surprisingly lively, and tonally 

accurate presentation. 


Air Tight ATM 300 

$7000 

axiss-usa.com 

The Air Tight ATM 300 is one of the 

handful of 300B SET amplifiers that lays 

claim to magical sound extending beyond 

the midrange. This amp’s airy highs, natural 

tonality, and low-bass extension defy common 

perceptions of 300B SETs. 

Reviewed by Scot Markwell, Issue 128 

Parasound Halo JC 1 

$7000 

parasound.com 

The latest collaboration between legendary 

designer John Curl and Parasound has 

resulted in the Halo JC 1: “…silky-smooth, 

crystal clear, and abundantly detailed. The 

kind you could listen to all day long without 

fatigue.” 


Mark Levinson No. 432 

$8000 

marklevinson.com 

The No. 432 stereo power amplifier embodies 

the classic Mark Levinson sound, with a slightly 

laidback and inviting perspective, tremendous 

soundstage depth and dimensionality, and a 

rock-solid bottom end. 

Reviewed by RH, Issue 161


Pass Labs X350.5 

$8000 

passlabs.com 

A 350Wpc solid-state stereo amp that has what 

Pass amps always seem to have in abundance: 

remarkable midrange presence and immediacy. 

A little darker-sounding and less bloomy than 

something like an Edge 10.1, it is exceptionally 

lively from top to bottom, with exceptionally 

good deep bass. and fast sweet treble. 


Balanced Audio Technology 

VK-75SE 

$8500 

balanced.com 

BAT’s VK-75SE is a tube design that, while 

displaying many of the attributes we love about 

glowing glass—smoothness, liquidity, depth, 

harmonic complexity—does so with, as reviewer 

Sue Kraft puts it, a “lack of candy-coating in the 

midrange.” In addition, the VK-75SE is virtually 

grain-free and excels at dynamics. 


MBL 8011 

$9075 

mbl-hifi.com 

The 8011 delivers a smooth, clear, grain-free 

sound that if anything is slightly soft, tonally 

speaking. With 1100 watts of peak pulse 

power, the MBL never shows signs of strain, 

while its low noise and excellent resolution 

allow recordings to sound as musical as 

they can. 


Edge G8+ 

$9999 

edgeamps.com 

The Edge designs do not sound much like what 

we expect from solid-state electronics, as they 

lack the darkness and grain that so frequently 

plague even the best examples of the type. That 

said, there’s no faux vacuum-tube sound here 

either, just a remarkable sense of neutrality, 

openness, and detail that doesn’t draw attention 

to itself but that instead serves the music. When 

compared to the best tube models, the only 

things lacking are the last degrees of air, decay, 

and harmonic bloom. 



$10,000–$20,000 

Simaudio Moon W 8 

$10,500 

simaudio.com 

This 80-pound, dual mono, bridgeable amplifier 

is Simaudio’s premier stereo unit, boasting 

250Wpc into 8 ohms (an even thousand when 

bridged). Like its companion preamplifier the P 

8, the W 8 is tonally neutral, has iron control 

yet exquisite finesse, and appears to do nothing 

but amplify the signal fed to it. At $10,500, 

on a watts/dollar basis, the W 8 can hardly be 

considered “good value,” but its performance 

cannot be faulted in any particular, and it’s hard 

to imagine anything ever going wrong with 

it, which means it could very likely be the last 

amplifier you’ll ever buy. 

Reviewed by PS in this issue 

Mark Levinson No. 436 

monoblocks 

$12,500 

Smooth, sophisticated and superbly musical, 

the Levinson 436 power amp is the definition 

of refinement. There’s no lack of detail or 

three-dimensionality anywhere in sight with this 

350Wpc powerhouse. Images are beautifully 

layered and sculpted, with rock-solid control 

in the bottom octaves, as well. The overall 

presentation is eminently easy on the ears, 

relaxing and a bit dark and laidback, ever so 

gracefully pulling the listener into the music in 

what can only be described as classic Levinson 

style. With build-quality beyond reproach, it’s 

plain to see why Levinson has survived as a 

stalwart of the audio industry for over three 

decades. 

Sue Kraft (review forthcoming) 

Edge NL10.1 and NL12.1 

$13,500 and $18,500 

edgeamp.com 

Except for authority and the last word in 

dynamic capability, the 225Wpc NL10.1 stereo 

amp is indistinguishable from its monoblock 

400Wpc big brother, the Signature NL1.1. Its 

sound is so addictively pure you’ll want to keep 

turning it up, which is where the 300Wpc NL12.1 

(essentially a stereo Signature NL1.1) comes in. 

If gorgeous midrange tone 

color and superb resolution 

of delicate performancerelated 

details like a pianist’s 

touch or a cellist’s bowing 

are your first priorities, you 

simply can’t go wrong with 

either of these amps. 

HP/JV 

Pass Labs XA160 

$18,000 

passlabs.com 

“An amplifier with soul,” the XA160 is the most 

“tube-like” transistor amp AHC has heard. Its 

sound is warmer than most, and the music 

emerges from deep black silence. Moreover, its 

soundstage depth matches its width, dynamics 

are musically natural and slightly “soft,” and the 

amp has terrific harmonic integrity. 

Reviewed by AHC, Issue 149 


Audio Research Reference 210 

monoblocks 

$20,000 


Audio Research Corporation has been making 

Class A/B, 6550-based, pentode-tube power 

amplifiers since HP first applied the term 

“high end” to audio gear. In better than thirty 

exceptional years, the company has not made 

better amps than the 220Wpc Reference 210 

monoblocks, which are significantly faster, lower 

in noise, more extended in bandwidth, and 

higher in resolution and dynamic range than any 

previous ARC efforts, without a sacrifice of the 

bloom, air, size, and space that ARC pentode 

amps are famous for. JV’s high-powered tube 

references. 


Balanced Audio Technology VK- 

600SE monoblocks 

$23,000 

balanced.com 

This fully-loaded version of the VK-600 

(it’s also available as a stereo amp, and in the 

standard, rather than SE, version) possesses a 

remarkable transparency and immediacy that 

are musically vivid without being sonically 

vivid, although soundstage depth is slightly 

foreshortened. The top end is extremely 

smooth and non-fatiguing, with perhaps a very 

slight loss of air in the upper treble. The VK- 

600SE’s 300W into eight ohms, and ability to 

double its power output as the load impedance 

is halved, make it a powerhouse that will drive 

virtually any loudspeaker. Needs an unusually 

long warm-up to sound its best. 

Reviewed by RH, Issue 159


Lamm ML2.1 monoblocks 

$29,990 

lammindustries.com 

The single-ended-triode ML2.1 sounds nothing 

like the typical SET. It does not trade off 

accuracy for euphony; it is not bandwidthlimited 

(its bass and treble are sensationally 

extended); and it is surprisingly powerful 

sounding (though not particularly “bloomy”) 

within its 17-watt limits. Given a sufficiently 

sensitive speaker—such as the Avantgarde Trio, 

the Nearfield Acoustics Pipedreams, the Quad 

57s (magical!), or virtually any Kharma—the 

ML2.1 will produce one of the most detailed, 

spacious, dynamic sounds on the market. Like 

all Lamm products, the ML2.1s are a bit dark in 

balance, very quiet, and very reliable. JV’s lowpower 

reference. 

JV 

MBL 9008 monoblocks 

$40,000 

mblusa.com 

These 440Wpc junior versions of the 9011 

monoblocks (see below) sound very much like 

their bigger brothers, which is to say they have 

sensational (albeit not quite 9011-level) front-toback 

transparency; low-level resolution; large- and 

small-scale dynamics; low-end extension, detail, 

and authority; and treble speed, detail, and punch. 

They are also blessed with gorgeous tone color 

and a top-to-bottom liquidity that (along with a 

slight overall darkness) is an MBL signature. 

JV 

Krell Evolution One 

monoblocks 

$50,000 


At this price (for a mono pair), the point of 

diminishing returns for dollars-to-soundquality 

borders on madness. It is, however, as 

AHC points out, a glorious madness. While 

the Evolution One is not a radical sonic 

breakthrough, the best aspects of the original 

Krell sound-character and “voicing” have been 

preserved, but the original virtues of deepbass 

power and rich natural timbre have been 

steadily enhanced, while air, life, microdynamics, 

soundstage depth and detail, and the upper 

octaves have improved to contenders for the 

state-of-the-art. A true sonic benchmark you 

really need to listen to. 



MBL 9011 monoblocks 

$74,000 

mbl.com 

Driven by the MBL 6010 D preamp, the 

massive, super-powerful, ultra-expensive MBL 

9011 monoblocks are superior by a wide margin 

to any other solid-state amps JV has auditioned, 

past or present. The first transistor amps JV 

has heard that fully combine the signal virtues 

of solid-state amps (extension, resolution, 

speed, sock) with those of tube amps (liquidity, 

rich timbres, and very low-level harmonic and 

dynamic detail), giving you nearly the whole 

note of any instrument, from starting transient 

to (and this is a first with solid-state) lingering 

decay. 


Integrated 

Amplifiers 

Under $1000 

NAD C 320BEE 

$399 


Like one of those amazing ten-dollar wines that 

leaves you wondering “Why spend more” the 

50Wpc C 320BEE offers such a strong taste 

of the high end that you might be tempted to 

think it doesn’t get any better than this. It does, 

of course, but you’ll have to spend at least a 

grand before the difference is worth it. Also 

noteworthy is NAD’s C 370 ($699), which, 

though not quite as refined as the 320BEE, is a 

great choice for those who need more power. 


Cambridge Azur 540A v2 

$459 

cambridgeaudio.com 

The Azur 540A is quite an overachiever, 

delivering ultra-smooth and almost tube-like 

liquidity from a budget solid-state integrated 

amplifier. The amplifier sounds more powerful 

than its 60Wpc rating, and a host of clever 

protection circuitry prevents amplifier or speaker 

damage. Nice build-quality, lots of features, and 

an outstanding remote control round out this 

tremendous bargain. 


Rotel RA 1062 

$699 

rotel.com 

Don’t let this amp’s 60-watt rating or modest 

price temper your expectations. It’s capable 

of towering dynamics, spellbinding nuance, 

vivid transient attacks, and robust, tuneful bass, 

combined with an uncolored and surprisingly 

transparent sound that is thrilling to hear. 

Deficiencies include a reduction of dynamic 

scale, minor congestion during complex 

passages, and a not-unpleasant gloss over 

high frequencies. None of this keeps the RA 

1062 from delivering an engrossing musical 

experience. 

Reviewed by AT, Issue 149 

Jolida JD-1000A 

$900 

jolida.com 

High-powered vacuum-tube power amps can 

get very pricey, which makes this $900 100Wpc 

tube-powered integrated amp that much more 

of a pleasant surprise. Because of the extra 

dynamic headroom it affords, the JD-1000A’s 

power comes in handy even if you don’t listen 

at loud volume levels. Sonically, the Jolida 

combines the signature sounds of two classic 

tubes: the EL-34 and the 6550. This amp blends 

the characteristic midrange liquidity of great 

EL-34 designs, with the punch, impact, and 

rock-solid bass performance of the best 6550 

designs. 

Reviewed by JD, AVgM, Issue 14 

$1000–$2000 

PrimaLuna ProLogue 

One 

$1095 


The sweet and affordable ProLogue One 

features a 12AX7, 12AU7, and a pair of EL-34s 

per channel in a very simple circuit. In classic EL- 

34 style, the ProLogue throws a very wide and 

deep soundstage, and has a wonderful midrange 

without sounding gooey like a Dynaco Stereo 

70 or other vintage design. The ProLogue One 

is very neutral with little signature of its own. 

Reviewed by JD, Issue 151 

Naim Nait 5i 

$1425 

naimusa.com 

Naim’s entry-level Nait 5i is a 50Wpc integrated, 

apparently straightforward in circuitry. None of 

this prepares you for what this amp can do with 

music. It gives each instrument a rich harmonic 

structure, while preserving the clarity that’s on 

the recording. The Nait resolves the traditional 

tube versus transistor dilemma, while imposing 

relatively modest tradeoffs on the listener. 

Given its moderate power output, this is not the 

ideal amplifier for big rooms or low-sensitivity 

speakers. Otherwise, the Nait is not only a great


amplifier for the money, it is an outright great 

amplifier. 

Reviewed by TM, AVgM, Issue 7 

YBA Design YA201 

$1649 

ybadesign.com 

The first product from YBA’s value-oriented 

sub-brand, YBA Design, the YA201 is a polished 

100Wpc performer. Even before you hear it, 

you’ll flip over this amplifier’s exquisite fit and 

finish and sleek industrial design, all of which 

set new benchmarks in its price class. Sonically, 

the YA201 delivers the downright seductive 

midrange for which YBA components are 

famous, plus a generous helping of transparency 

and good response at the frequency extremes. 


Cyrus 8vs 

$1795 

soundorg.com 

All-around musicality is one of the Cyrus 8-series’ 

greatest strengths, with terrific musical timbre 

and that sense of rightness and naturalness 

that one hears in a live performance. The music 

“breathed” and had such a touch of sweetness 

and warmth, that reviewer JH thought at times 

he was listening to tubes instead of solid-state. 


Vincent SV-236 

$1795 

vincentaudio.com 

The well-built Vincent SV-236 integrated 

amplifier combines the best of two worlds 

by providing a vacuum-tube preamp 

driving a 100Wpc solid-state power 

amplifier. Listeners will appreciate the 

Vincent’s combination of deep, powerful, 

authoritative solid-state bass and tubefueled 

delicacy, shimmering detail, and almost 

surround-like imaging. 

Reviewed by BW, Issue 156 

Cayin Audio A 88T 

$1995 


This all-tube integrated is PS’s favorite kind of 

audio component: wonderful performance at 

a reasonable price. Costing a mere fiver under 

two grand, this hand built honey boasts fit and 

finish that would do McIntosh proud, while its 

designer freely admits it was made to sound like 

Mc’s fabled MC275. A no apologies necessary, 


low-price alternative to the latter, it will drive 

any version of Quad electrostatics and fine 

mini-monitors with a sound that is sweet and 

seductive, yet also vibrant and dynamic. 

PS (review forthcoming) 

$2000–$3000 

Pathos Classic One MK III 

$2750 

musicalsurroundings.com 

This is not only a fine amplifier; it is beautiful in 

every sense of the word. But if sheer dynamic 

scale and loudness are priorities, this 70Wpc 

tube model may not be for you. Instead, this is 

an amplifier that always gets the tone, timbre, 

and balance of music right, but only if played 

at natural levels and over reasonably sensitive 

speakers. Though dynamic scale is undeniably 

reduced, this is a negligible price to pay when 

the reward is reproduction of instruments and 

voices that sound so recognizably real. 


NAD Masters Series M3 

$2795 


Not since the coolly received Silver Series of a 

decade ago has NAD made such a no-holdsbarred 

effort. Bristling with oomph, this pure 

dual-mono design boasts build-quality that 

shames some tonier brands. With 180Wpc on 

reserve it conveys an easy-going neutrality and 

cushiony refinement. Bass is as controlled and 

extended as any integrated NG has encountered. 

It may not have quite the air and bloom in the 

treble of the premium-spread überamps, but it 

comes scary close. Another bargain from the 

company that minted the term. 


Ayre AX-7e 

$2950 

ayre.com 

The AX-7 has all the hallmarks of the Ayre 

sound, but scaled down in output power. This 

beautifully made integrated has dimensionality, 

openness, image specificity, and transparency 

that rival much more expensive separates. Don’t 

be put off by the modest 60Wpc output rating; 

the AX-7 sounds robust and has bass extension 

that belies its modest specification. 

AX-7 reviewed by RH, Issue 134 

Audio Research VSi55 

$2995 


The VSi55 serves up a rich midrange, combined 

with smooth—but never dull—treble, and with 

the right speakers (those with smooth lowfrequency 

impedance curves), its bass can be 

powerful and well-controlled. This amp also 

handles dynamics with greater authority than its 

power rating would suggest, while conveying a 

sense of the musical whole. Avoid using with 

ported speakers that have large impedance peaks 

in the bass (which can result in a thick, bloated 

sound). And be aware that the VSi55 trades 

away some of the transparency you would hear 

through a good transistor amplifier in order to 

give you the natural, relaxed, “holistic” sound 

of tubes. 


Plinius 9200 

$3695 

$3000 and above 

plinius.com 

The 9200 is a thorough and timely re-imagining 

of the brilliant but aging 8150/8200. Still 

compact in size, it pumps out a healthy 200Wpc, 

and thanks to its strong Class A bias, the 9200 

is sweeter and richer than ever. Even the allnew 

phonostage is quieter and more dynamic. 

Sonics have developed a beautiful patina. Bass 

doesn’t sound as darkly ominous or extended 

as in years past, but control and definition are 

strikingly improved. A major leap forward for 

a reference integrated at its price—and perhaps 

any price. 


Balanced Audio Techncology 

VK-300X 

$3995–$5995 (depending on options) 

balanced.com 

Available in your choice of three different 

preamp stages—solid-state, tube, or 6H30 

“SuperTube”—BAT’s VK-300X is a great 

integrated amplifier. Although refinements 

occur with each upgrade, its basic sound is 

airy, detailed, harmonically well-structured, 

and very immediate. And with 150Wpc output, 

it will not only drive pretty much any speaker, 

but it will do so with dynamic authority as well as 

agility. Music Editor Bob Gendron’s reference. 


Thule Audio’s Spirit IA350B 

Integrated Amplifier 

$3995 

thule-audio.com 

The Danish Thule (pronounced “toola”) 

integrated amplifier offers extended frequency 

response, rich bass, a subtle and startlingly


transparent midrange, and shimmering beautiful 

highs. The Thule makes lyrics come through 

with new clarity; violins have rosiny bite; midtones 

shimmer and breathe. The soundstage is 

wide and deep. If you have good, clean speakers 

and you like sound that is clear, yet rich in depth 

and dynamics, with great midrange magic, SR 

will wager you will love the Thule IA-350B 

integrated amp. 


Edge G3 

$4950 

edgeamps.com 

Although it lacks some of the technical 

refinements that make Edge’s separates special, 

it’s remarkable how close this integrated design 

comes to the sound of those designs. At 85Wpc, 

the G3 doesn’t have the tonal “darkness” and 

grain frequently heard from transistor gear. It’s 

quite neutral in balance, with a lack of electronic 

artifacts—brightness, edginess, hash—that 

makes it unusually easy to hear “into” the 

music. 


Chapter Précis 

$6500 

chapterelectronics.co.uk 

Driven by Chapter’s unique Class D output 

stage (derived from Chapter’s Couplet power 

amp), the Précis outputs 130Wpc, a figure that 

doubles into 4 ohms. Controlled by a single 

multi-function knob (from the Preface Plus 

preamp) that should be the envy of BMW 

owners everywhere, the Précis is breathlessly 

quiet, fast off the mark, and notable for its 

lack of coloration. Truly an integrated that 

is exploring the outer limits of what this 

technology can achieve. 

NG (review forthcoming) 

Stereo Receivers 

OutlawAudio RR2150 

$599 

outlawaudio.com 

Despite its retro looks, the Outlaw Audio 

RR2150 is a thoroughly modern design. It 

has a warm, musical sound, and allows easy 

connections to an iPod or other MP3 player via 

its 3.5mm front-panel AUX input, or streaming 

audio from a computer via a USB connector 

on the rear, almost begging you to hook up 

your iPod and computer to step up your sound 


quality. It also sports a decent phonostage that 

can drive both mm and mc cartridges. 


Rotel RX-1052 

$899 

rotel.com 

Following the Rotel tradition, this stereo receiver 

employs proven techniques to produce better 

sound. Good internal parts, a beefy, custom 

toroidal transformer mated with high-quality 

storage capacitors and quality binding posts, 

among them. Pick this unit up and you’ll realize 

you’re not dealing with a lightweight. Appealing 

to analog lovers, Rotel even includes a decent 

moving-magnet phonostage. 


Arcam Solo 

$1599 

arcam.co.uk 

More than a receiver, Arcam’s versatile Solo 

combines a sophisticated 50Wpc integrated 

amplifier, a sweet-sounding AM/FM/DAB 

tuner, and a very good mid-level CD player 

in one slim, attractively priced package. It 

functions as a more-or-less state-of-the-art 

alarm clock, too. The appeal of this product 

is that it provides an extremely compact and 

convenient platform upon which to base good, 

budget high-end systems. Though not the last 

word in transparency, detail, or performance 

at the frequency extremes, the Solo’s sound is 

nevertheless suave, self-assured, and emotionally 

expressive. 


Preamplifiers 

NAD C 162 

$599 

Under $1000 


Following other NAD products, the C 162 

delivers plenty of resolution and threedimensionality 

while—more importantly— 

emphasizing the kind of overall musicality 

that draws out the natural warmth and 

expressiveness of instruments and voices. To 

get the most from it, try matching it with the 

companion C 272 amplifier via a set of PNF 

Audio Icon interconnects and Symphony 

speaker cables. Also features an astonishingly 

good phonostage; some listeners may buy it for 

that feature alone. 


Rogue Audio Metis 

$995 

rogueaudio.com 

Rogue Audio’s award-winning Metis is a 

USA-made, vacuum tube-powered (6SN7- 

based) preamplifier. The dynamic liveliness 

and harmonic richness we expect in any good 

tube designs are present here, and at levels that 

remind us of the sound of $2500 tube preamps. 

But unlike tube designs that sound focused in 

the midrange but soft at the frequency extremes, 

the Metis’ great strength is sound that remains 

evenly balanced and finely resolved from top 

to bottom. The icing on the cake is that the 

Metis includes a thoroughly competent (if 

unspectacular) mm phonostage. 


Quad 99 and QC-24 

$999 (each) 


Along with a dandy mm and mc phonostage, 

the Quad 99 features a novel “tilt” control for 

tone correction that works like a charm when 

you need it. A solid middle-level performer, it 

lacks the ultimate transparency, liveliness, and 

dynamic openness of the very best units. The 

all-tube QC-24 linestage is the least expensive to 

suggest that elusive quality of “continuousness” 

in its presentation. The QC-24 has first-rate 

imaging in all dimensions, and a lively, engaging, 

remarkably neutral presentation. 


$1000–$2000 

PrimaLuna ProLogue 3 

$1295 


The vacuum-tube-powered ProLogue 3 preamp 

makes an ideal companion to PrimaLuna’s 

ProLogue 5 tube power amp. Like the power 

amp, the preamp combines traditional tube 

warmth and richness with a clear, crisp, precise 

presentation reminiscent of the best solid-state 

designs. Bass, too, is taut and clear. 


Sonic Euphoria PLC Passive Line 

Controller 

$1295, single-ended;$1995, fully balanced 

When it comes to lack of glare, grain, coloration,


or electronic artifacts, the Sonic Euphoria PLC 

can compete with the best. But then you’d 

expect no less from the ultra-simplistic design 

of a passive. What you don’t expect to hear 

is no dynamic compression or loss of bass. 

This can be credited to designer Jeff Hagler’s 

autoformer-based attenuator, which affords the 

SE up to 10dB of gain—sans AC power cord— 

and output impedance low enough to drive long 

cable lengths without sonic degradation. Source 

output remains a minor concern, but after 

extended use, Sue Kraft reports few issues in 

this regard. 

SK (review forthcoming) 

Arcam FMJ C31 

aslgroup.com 

$1999 

Smooth and grain-free with terrific detail, the 

laid-back-sounding Arcam has the ability to 

play complex passages without apparent strain 

and without inducing listener fatigue. The 

soundstage is slightly recessed, particularly 

noticeable on large orchestral works, and it’s 

also full and deep. But no matter how smooth 

it sounds, the Arcam never sacrifices resolution. 

Nor does it have any trepidation about plunging 

down into the nether regions on organ music. 

Reviewed by Jacob Heilbrunn in this issue 

Cary Audio SLP-308 

$1999 

caryaudio.com 

While not the highest-resolution model around, 

this linestage bathes instruments in a pleasant 

and very musical golden glow. Excellent 

textures, too, which bring to all recordings that 

hard-to-define sense of life or lifelikeness that 

we hope for from our systems. Depth is quite 

good, but the third-dimension seems to end 

rather abruptly about two-thirds of the way into 

the orchestra. Likewise, stage width is slightly 

sheared off, as are dynamic extremes. 


$2000–$4000 

Artemis Labs LA-1 

$3000 

aydn.com 

One of three debut components from this 

fledgling company, this 5687-based tube design 

digs deep into the heart of the music. Beautiful 

without being overtly romantic sounding, the 

LA-1 is exceptionally holographic, dynamically 

lively, tonally and texturally natural, and, 

audiophile-speak aside, simply more musically 


engaging than most of the competition in this 

range. Exciting stuff. 


Sutherland The Director 

$3000 


An unusually lovely-sounding solid-stage 

linestage, The Director’s character is easygoing, 

sweet, and rather romantic. It has the thinnest 

layer of solid-state opaqueness, and slightly 

pinches low-level dynamic nuances, but the 

upper registers are sweet and extended, the 

midrange warm, the soundstage big and open 

with excellent depth, and the overall musical 

presentation quite expressive. 


Meridian G02 

$3295 

meridian-audio.com 

The G02 controller replaces its predecessor, 

the 502, and features balanced dual-mono 

construction as well as a unique dual-differential 

volume control. SK called it “effortless, refined, 

and absolutely gorgeous” when combined with 

Meridian’s other G Series gear, concluding, 

“these machines have class written in spades all 

over them.” 


Classé Delta CP-500 

$3500 


Electronics have no right looking this sharp 

and sexy, but Classé’s Delta Series proves it 

can be done. Clean, curvilinear good looks 

and a bright, touchscreen TFT display make 

the CP-500 one of the most “able”-minded 

preamps out there—able as in adjustable, 

assignable, and renamable. Sonics feature a 

chocolate-like midbass, a midrange with almost 

tube-like warmth, and an overall effortless and 

relaxed quality. Thanks to a low noise floor, 

delicate inner voices unfold with a full range of 

expression. 


$4000–$5000 

Conrad-Johnson 

Premier 18LS 

$4000 


C-J’s Premier 18LS is a remote-controlled 

solid-state linestage that handles microdynamic 

changes in musical energy with the lifelike 

realism and excitement of the best tube models. 

Also, like tubes, it never sacrifices soundstage 

depth for width and honors the music in a 

natural way, without exaggerated detail. 


Edge G2 

$4395 

edgeamps.com 

Like its amps, Edge’s preamps are a different 

kind of solid-state—grain-free, open, neutral but 

not cold, and not at all dark or grainy. The sound 

described is with the G2 powered by its internal 

gel batteries. When the G2 is driven by AC, the 

sound is noticeably drier, hashier, and less magical. 

But given that the batteries only need charging 

once a week—and when you’re not listening 

critically (or at all), they charge themselves in the 

AC mode—this is not a practical concern. 


Aesthetix Calypso 

$4500 


The all-tube Calypso delivers most of the 

performance of Aesthetix’ two-box $13,000 

Callisto linestage for about a third the price. What’s 

more, the Calypso benefits from Aesthetix’ secondgeneration 

styling, functionality, and industrial 

design. Sonically, the Calypso is characterized by 

extremely wide dynamics, with an effortlessness in 

reproducing dynamic shadings along a continuum. 

Although the treble is smooth and somewhat 

laid-back, transparency and detail resolution are 

first-rate. Noise floor is highly dependent on tube 

quality, which has been variable. Competes with 

the megabuck preamps. The Calypso is musically 

stunning and beautifully built. 


McIntosh C46 and C2200 

$4600 and $4900 

mcintoshlabs.com 

Sonically and functionally a great preamplifier, 

the solid-state C46 eschews the folly of 

minimalism in favor of a truly useful set of 

controls and features, including an eight-band 

equalizer that is even up to correcting some 

room-related problems. It also has an excellent 

phonostage. In day-to-day use PS has never 

experienced a more pleasurable unit. McIntosh’s 

first new all-tube preamp in more than 40 years, 

the C2200 is a triumph that sports a gallery of 

features (including a good phonostage) and 

classic McIntosh sound. The midrange is the 

most neutral PS has heard in any tube unit, 

the bass response is equally fine, at once firm 

yet natural, and the highs are sweet, pure, and 

extended. If PS were to go back to tubes, this 

would be his reference preamplifier. 

Reviewed by PS, Issue 147


$5000–$10,000 

Balanced Audio Technology VK- 

31SE 

$5495 (remote option adds $500, phono 

option adds $500) 

balanced.com 

Now equipped with BAT’s SUPER-PAK, 

a feature that doubles the power-supply 

capability over that of the earlier VK-30SE, 

the 31SE lends a slight emphasis to the upper 

midrange but is otherwise a highly musical and 

dynamically nimble performer. It has musical 

detail, with lots of air and harmonic color, good 

staging, and the ability to let the music breathe. 

Requires a long break-in period. 


Pass Labs X1 

$5900 

passlabs.com 

Remarkably similar in sound to the $10,000 

XO.2 (the main difference is in the power 

supply), Pass Labs’ X1 has the kind of natural air 

and harmonic sweetness we normally associate 

with tubes, as well as superb deep bass, overall 

neutrality, and good dynamic contrasts. 


Hovland HP-100 

$6500 (with mc phonostage) 

hovlandcompany.com 

The Hovland HP-100 captures 

the essential “rightness” of music 

without sounding nearly as “hi-fi” as 

most of its competition. It is not, in 

longer-term listening, difficult to hear 

its flaws, but the HP-100 reminds us 

just how clinical, ultimately, almost all 

components sound, and does so by 

sounding as “unclinical” as anything 

HP has heard. 

Reviewed by PB, Issue 131; HP’s 

Workshop, Issues 131 and 137 

Hovland HP-200 

$7500 (add $2000 for P-200 phonostage) 

hovlandcompany.com 

An uncommonly beautiful piece of audio gear, 

Hovland’s HP-200 is an elegant, detailed, and 

natural-sounding preamplifier. Its detail doesn’t 

wow you in that “I never heard it like that 

before” sort of way, but rather in a way that 

reveals the inner workings of a performance. 

Its elegance is expressed as an ability to 

effortlessly connect musical dots and lines. 

And it’s natural in that it allows instrumental 

and vocal timbres and textures to sound like 

themselves, and it also brings the human 

element out of a recording that conveys the 

emotion in a score. 



MBL 5011 

$8382 

mbl-germany.de 

MBL is making some of the most gorgeoussounding 

electronics out there, with a sound 

that comes remarkably close to marrying the 

best virtues of tube and solid-state designs. And 

though this linestage model may not have quite 

the richness of tone color, energy, dynamic 

swing, detail, and mind-boggling transparency 

you’ll hear with its $18,920 big brother 6010 

D, it comes mighty close at a price that, if not 

inexpensive, makes it a genuine value among 

state-of-the-art electronics. 



VK-51SE 

$9000 (with remote option) 

balanced.com 

BAT’s VK-51SE is as fully featured as linestages 

come, and uses the 6H30 “Super Tube” to 

deliver super sound. The big BAT has unlimited 

dynamic swing at all volume levels, and never 

loses its composure no matter how loud you 

crank it. In terms of how it compares to the 

competition, if ARC is a little on the lively side 

of neutral, the BAT is just on the softer side, 

with considerable depth and texture, without 

actually being dark. 



ARC Reference 3 

$10,000 


The best tube preamp ARC has made in 30+ 

years of often-classic efforts, the best tube 

preamp money can buy at this writing, and (in 

JV’s view) one of the two best preamps. Like 

its companion piece, the Reference 210 power 

amp, this is the first ARC tube preamp with the 

speed, resolution, bandwidth, and low noise 

floor of a great solid-state unit. Superior in 

tone color, bloom, soundstaging, imaging, and 

in-the-room-with-you presence to its only real 

competition—the superb MBL 6010 D solidstate 

preamp. JV’s tube reference. 


Mark Levinson No. 326S 

$10,000 

marklevinson.com 

The No. 326 possesses greater transparency and 

fidelity to the source than previous ML preamps, 

with less of the characteristic ML house sound. 

Astonishingly focused, and detailed, yet smooth, 

suave, and sophisticated. Superb features and 

ergonomics make the No. 326S a pleasure to 

use on a daily basis. RH’s reference preamp. 


Edge Signature 1.1 

$10,900 

edgeamp.com 

Unusual because it can be powered by either 

batteries or AC, the Edge—when powered by 

batteries, please note—has a glorious top end, 

a rich middle register, a wonderfully complex 

harmonic structure, and delivers plenty of 

ambient information. What it lacks is vocal 

body, low-frequency punch, and the last word 

in dynamic wallop. 

JV 

Simaudio Moon P 8 

$11,000 

simaudio.com 

If it weren’t for the absence of a mode (i.e., 

stereo/mono) switch, PS would find this 

two-channel, dual-chassis, dualmono 

preamplifier literally perfect 

as regards function and user 

friendliness. Features include remote 

operation and volume and balance 

controls that offer the greatest 

resolution in PS’s experience, fully 

balanced operation with balanced 

and single-ended inputs, buildquality 

second to none, and stylish 

aesthetics. The sound Like any 

superior modern solid-state unit, it’s 

tonally neutral and pretty much characterless 

(which means it won’t appeal to a certain kind 

of audiophile). Additionally, its transparency is 

see-through, dynamic response hair-trigger and 

very wide, detail amazing, with that paradoxical 

combination of iron grip and utter ease. 

Drawbacks Well, it does cost $11,000. 

Reviewed by PS in this issue 

MBL 6010 D 

$18,920 

mbl.com 

In most ways, the MBL 6010 D is not just the 

best solid-state preamp, it is the best preamp JV 

has auditioned. Its noise floor is so incredibly 

low that it consistently resolves fine harmonic


and dynamic details that simply aren’t audible 

on other great preamps. At the same time 

its transient speed and authority are beyond 

compare. To ice the cake, it has absolutely 

gorgeous tone color, the same liquidity and 

transparency that so distinguish MBL’s 9011 

amps, excellent imaging and soundstaging, 

nonpareil ambience retrieval, and the kind of 

resolution that can transport you back in time to 

the recording venue. JV’s solid-state reference. 


Krell Evolution Two 

$40,000 


The Krell Evolution series puts the third 

dimension back in music by providing 

exceptional depth. It also provides exceptional 

reproduction of hall sounds and musical 

mechanics—bowing sounds, score rustling, 

etc.—when these are on the recording. This 

effect is enhanced by the imaging qualities of 

the Evolution Two. When the imaging on a 

recording is natural and detailed, the Evolution 

preserves the size, the place, the stability, and 

the layers of imaging. The result is a more open 

soundstage, better reproduction of life and 

air, and a greater ability to lose yourself in the 

music. 


Phonostages 

Gram Amp 2 SE 

$399 

Under $2000 

elexatelier.com 

This stripped-down little bugger has a sweet, 

mellow sound, and very low noise and 

perceived distortion. It’s strictly for moving 

magnets and high-output moving coils. The 

sound is a little veiled (though remarkably 

grain-free), and, while not the last word in 

wide dynamics, has astonishing composure 

and musical integrity. 


Grado PH-1 

$500 


gradolabs.com 

The wood-bodied PH-1 is a versatile unit 

that works equally well with high- and lowoutput 

cartridges. Though it is susceptible to 

environmental noise, the sound is open and easy, 

with an expansive soundstage, natural highs, 

and bass that has texture, tonal refinement, and 

power. 


Phonomena 

$600 


An Apollonian grace, poise, low noise, and 

neutrality characterize this excellent unit, which 

includes options for fine-tuning the loading 

and gain of both moving coils and moving 

magnets. Add the external power supply for 

even lower noise and distortion, and greater 

transparency. Some listeners may want more 

dynamic “punch” and personality, but this is 

hard to beat for low coloration. Add $600 for 

BPS power supply. 


Benz Lukaschek PP-1 

$1350 


A solid-state, miniaturized hideaway box 

powered by a wall transformer. External AC 

plus short signal path yields very wide dynamics 

and space retrieval with a comforting middleof-the-road 

sonic balance and airy bloom much 

like that of the Benz Ruby 2 cartridge, if a 

little darker. Warmth is enhanced by 22k input 

impedance. 

Reviewed by Arthur S. Pfeffer, Issue 127 

Sutherland PhD 

$3000 

$3000–$6000 


Ron Sutherland’s battery-powered PhD is so 

quiet that it takes awhile to get used to its sound. 

Once you’ve adjusted, expect to hear “into” 

your records in a way unlike before. Beyond 

its silence, the PhD has a tube-like liquidity, 

terrific detail, wonderful dynamic nuance, and 

remarkable transparency. 


Artemis Labs PL-1 

$3520 

aydn.com 

Like its companion linestage, the PL-1 is a 

tube-driven phonostage delivering exquisitely 

musical and lifelike sound. Record after record 

left our editor with that “as if hearing it for the 

first time” feeling. Beautifully balanced, with 

low noise and a great range of tone colors, the 

PL-1 is also dynamically explosive and very 

transparent. A terrific achievement from a 

young company. 


Aesthetix Rhea 

$4000 


As with Aesthetix’ matching Calypso linestage, 

the Rhea phono preamplifier redefines what’s 

possible at this price level not only sonically, but 

functionally. With three inputs, variable cartridge 

loading—adjustable at the listening chair via 

remote control—and front-panel display of gain 

and loading, the Rhea is the Swiss Army Knife 

of phonostages. Although the Rhea has tons 

of gain, the noise level is extremely low, making 

it compatible with a wide range of cartridge 

outputs. The Rhea’s family resemblance to the 

Calypso is unmistakable: transient quickness and 

speed without etch, a feeling of effortlessness on 

crescendos, and a deep, layered soundstage that 

maintains its depth at the left and right edges 

rather than sounding triangular. 


ARC PH7 

$6000 



Meet the new boss. If you can imagine a remotecontrollable 

phonostage with the air, color, and 

bloom of the Aesthetix Io and the dynamics 

and soundstaging of the Lamm LP2 Deluxe, 

then you’ve got an idea of what ARC’s all-tube 

PH7 phonostage sounds like. That said, you 

really have to hear this one for yourself to get 

a true sense of its transparency and the magical 

way it images. ARC hasn’t been on such a roll 

since the heady days of the SP10 and D79B. 


Lamm LP 2 Deluxe 

$6990 

lammindustries.com 

With a superb built-in coupling transformer to 

handle lower-output moving coils, the all-tube 

Lamm LP2 phonostage has the inestimable 

advantage of being dead quiet, which makes 

it ideal for folks, like JV, who live in RF Valley. 

Though not as “alive” or bloomy as the Aesthetix


Io or ARC PH7 on large-scale dynamics, the 

Lamm is rich, beautiful, and extraordinarily 

delicate-sounding on all music, with detail and 

transient response that are superior to the Io’s. 

Be forewarned: This preamp takes a good deal 

of break-in before it sounds its considerable 

best, but its best is well worth the wait. 


Aesthetix Io MKII and MKII 

Signature 

$6500 without volume control; $9000 with 

volume control; $9000 for Signature without 

volume control, $11,500 for Signature with 

volume control 


Phono fanatics with both space and cash will 

want to audition this 24-tube, two (large) chassis 

beauty. Yes, it eats shelf space; yes, it throws a lot 

of heat; and yes, it is as good as it gets. Exquisite 

dynamic contrasts Check. An easy, relaxed 

presentation Check. Headroom to spare 

Check. A glorious midrange, excellent bottom 

octave, and full rendition of instrumental body 

Triple-check. The highs aren’t as airy or extended 

as some, but they are natural and non-fatiguing. 

Reviewed by Don Saltzman, Issue 121 and by 

JV, Issue 143 

Manley Steelhead 

$7300 

manleylabs.com 

The Steelhead should be counted as one of 

the great phonostages, and its extraordinary set 

of features makes it a vinyl-tweaker’s fantasy 

rig. Driven by an outboard solid-state power 

supply, the main chassis houses six tubes, two 

moving-coil and moving-magnet inputs, fixed 

and variable inputs, and a bevy of front-panel 

controls that include adjustable gain, volume, 

selectable impedance for mm and mc, and 

selectable capacitance loading from zero to 

1100 picofarads in 10 picofarad steps. The 

sound is superb—rich but not fat, detailed 

yet natural, extended, controlled, and highly 

involving. Plus, it has the huevos to drive an 

amp directly. 


Digital 

Processors 

TacT Audio RCS 2.2XP 

$3990 (plus D-to-A module, $449; optional 

ADC module, $549) 

tactaudio.com 

Recently upgraded to a “P” designation, TacT’s 

2.2 lets you do a crossover-plus-time-delay at, say, 

200Hz from a corner-placed woofer to a main 

speaker out in the room (where midrange and 

treble response are smoother and imaging better). 

The RCS 2.2XP also does the overall “room 

correction” to bring the in-room response to 

whatever “target curve” you choose. 


Digital Sources 

Under $1000 

Denon DVD-1920 

denon.com 

$369 

At well under $400, Denon’s DVD-1920 is a 

stunning bargain. The machine offers sound 

quality commensurate with players costing 

much more—including some of Denon’s 

own higher-end offerings. Throw in full 

SACD and DVD-Audio capability, along 

with superb video performance, and you’ve 

perhaps the greatest bargain in universal 

players today. 

Reviewed by BW, TPV Issue 67 



Cambridge Azur 540D 

$399 

audioplusservices.com 

The 540D offers equal strengths for both music and 

film playback. As a CD player, the Azur’s performance 

rivals that of the more expensive NAD C 542, with 

a relaxed, assured sound that is surprisingly threedimensional 

and reveals the cushion of air around 

instruments. But the Azur really comes alive on 

DVD-Audio material, offering sound so compelling 

that our reviewer wrote, “I could see buying the 540D 

for this capability alone.” 


Cambridge 540C v2 

$459 

audioplusservices.com 

The 540C CD player sounds far more 

sophisticated and refined than any $439 machine 

has a right to. The midrange is relatively grainfree, 

and the treble lacks the metallic sheen 

often heard in entry-level products. The player 

is beautifully built and packed with high-end 

parts and design techniques, including a beefy 

custom-made transport mechanism, generous 

power supply, and the same 96kHz/24-bit 

Wolfson DACs found in $3000 machines. 


NAD C 542 

$500 


NAD’s C 542 delivers a warm, easy, and open 

sound, though it is slightly rough around the 

edges and a bit forward in perspective. Given 

the NAD’s overall musicality and value, these 

flaws are hardly a distraction. 


Music Hall CD 25.2 

$600 


A remarkable-sounding CD player, this 

affordable winner from Music Hall offers very 

good clarity and resolution in the treble and 

middle registers, with a generally rich musical 

fabric, albeit with a touch of midbass thinness. 

Switching out the power cord to a better 

aftermarket unit made this unit bloom, and by 

the time you read this the manufacturer should 

have a better cord as part of the package. 


Rotel RCD-1072 

$699 

rotel.com 

With the CD-only RCD-1072, Rotel couples 

landmark performance with remarkable 

affordability, while avoiding the mediocrity of 

today’s combi-players. The 1072 delivers superb 

tonal accuracy, frequency extension, imaging, 

and rhythmic swing. Low digital-noise artifacts 

allow music to emerge from a silent background. 

Compared to the best, it has less resolution and 

slightly polite dynamics. 


Rega Apollo 

$995 

rega.co.uk 

Rega’s Apollo CD player is the finest sub- 

$1000 CD player that CM has heard, offering 

substantially more resolution than other players 

in its class, plus a richly textured sound that spans 

the entire audio spectrum (though faint hints of 

treble hardness do occasionally poke through). 

Chockfull of high-end parts and technologies, 

including a discrete Class A analog output 

stage, Wolfson DACs, highly advanced CDoperating-system 

software, an all-new transport 

mechanism, and a control chipset that features a 

whopping 20MB of RAM and a built-in 32-bit 

DSP processor. 

Reviewed by CM in this issue 

$1000–$2000 

Sony DVP-NS9100ES 

$1299 

sony.com 

Reviewer Barry Willis said the Sony’s CD and 

SACD performance “was wonderful—detailed 



and intimate with warm, round tones and 

a deep soundstage. Especially notable were 

the dark, silent backgrounds and rich, natural 

harmonics that the best SACD discs deliver in 

the company of the right hardware.” One of 

the best SACD/CD players in its price range, 

the DVD-NS9100ES delivers refinement and 

listening pleasure that BW says “aren’t typically 

encountered below about $3500.” 


Quad 99-CDP 

$1499 


Free of electronic artifacts—digital ones, 

too—the 99-CDP’s presentation is lively and 

vital, big and powerful. Grainless, it’s also 

capable of warmth, richness, and delicacy. 

Unlike the original Series 99 player, the 99- 

CDP can be used with components other 

than Quad’s 99 stack. One nice feature is the 

high-quality built-in volume control, which 

means that if CD is your only medium, you 

can drive the power amp directly, thus saving 

on a preamp. 


Sim Audio Moon Equinox 

$1995 

simaudio.com 

The Equinox is a welcome relief from the 

clinical sound still heard from many digital 

sources. Its warm, natural presentation 

restores the feeling of dimensionality and 

openness that for many of us went AWOL 

when our LP collections were exiled to the 

attic. Though it is slightly darker than some 

players, its lack of constriction breathes new 

life into a format that continues to improve. 

Excellent build-quality rounds out the 

package. 


$2000–$3000 

Thule Audio Space DVA-250B 

$2195 

thule-audio.com 

Like the Spirit integrated amp, the DVA-250B 

DVD/CD player is simple to use, goodlooking, 

and reasonable in price. This unit 

is sweet, but that does not mean wimpy or 

syrupy; lyrics come through with new clarity; 

violins have rosiny bite; mid-tones shimmer 

and breathe, and the soundstage is wide and 

deep. 



Arcam FMJ CD36 

aslgroup.com 

$2499 

Like its sister preamp, this Arcam CD player 

impresses with how far solid-state and digital 

electronics have come. Smooth and unruffled, 

free of grunge, yet very detailed, this model 

provides everything that more sophisticated 

digital units do, but with not quite as much flesh 

on the notes. 

Reviewed by JHeilbrunn in this issue 

Musical Fidelity A5 

$2500 

musicalfidelity.com 

Last year, Musical Fidelity’s $6500 Tri-Vista 

SACD player impressed us with terrific sound 

quality. The new A5 CD player, complete 

with vacuum-tube output stage, represents an 

attempt to deliver equivalent sound at a much 

lower price. It succeeds. The A5’s greatest 

strengths “are in the overall ‘balance’ of the 

sound in all kinds of music, and an almost 

indescribable excitement in transients and in 

dynamic details.” 


Ayre CX-7e 

$2950 

ayre.com 

The Ayre CX-7 is a minimalist design with 

great attention lavished on the power supply 

and analog output circuitry. Highly involving, it 

brings an unusual sense of rhythmic rightness 

to all music, with deep, defined bass, excellent 

dynamics, three-dimensionality, and tonal 

accuracy. (Recently upgraded to the 7e version.) 


Arcam FMJ DV29 

$2999 

audiophilesystems.com 

Like the earlier FMJ DV27A, this “Full Metal 

Jacket” player offers performance that’s nearly 

as good as it gets with all formats. The DV29 is 

the best-sounding Arcam player yet, with inner 

detail and resolution on CD and DVD-A that 

even the 27 can’t match. 

Reviewed by SB, TPV Issue 60 

$3000–$5000 

Marantz SA-11s1 

$3499 

marantz.com 

Who says you have to 

spend five figures to 

get terrific sound from 

both CD and SACD 

The Marantz SA-11S1 

is squarely aimed at the 

purist music lover, eschewing 

DVD-Video playback, multichannel capability, 

and multi-disc universal compatibility in favor 

of all-out sonic performance on CD and twochannel 

SACD. On CD, the sound quality rivaled 

that of megabuck outboard D/A converters, 

with an extremely clean and pure midrange 

and treble, a deep and layered soundstage, and 

good resolution of musical detail. Gorgeous 

cosmetics and fabulous build-quality. 


Denon DVD-5910 

$3500 

denon.com 

The first DVD player to employ the stunning 

Silicon Optix HQV video-processing chip, the 

Denon DVD-5910 naturally has terrific video 

performance. But the audio is equally good, 

whether you’re playing CD, SACD, or DVD- 

Audio. The massively overbuilt player delivers 

powerful bass and a smooth yet extended treble, 

with a musically involving character. A flat-out 

bargain for its capabilities with all formats. 


Classé Delta CDP-102 

$4000 


Another Classé tour de “source,” the CDP- 

100 combines the sensuous design elegance 

of the TFT-touchscreen-equipped CP-500 

with solid but mellow PCM performance that 

never fails to flatter the music. Textures are 

velvety smooth, with terrific fluidity across the 

tonal spectrum. Although less forward than 

some and a little light in the bass, it shares the 

high musicality and build-factor of the other 

Delta electronics. 


Krell SACD Standard 

$4000 


From its airy, ethereal highs, to its sweet, warm 

midrange, to its staggeringly deep and tuneful 

bass, to its wide as well as deep soundstage, 

Krell’s SACD Standard has a lot to recommend 

it. It isn’t flawless—particularly when it comes 

to the slightly noisy and slow drive unit— but its 

main sonic shortcoming is a tendency to soften 

treble and transient response. 

Reviewed by FK, Issue 161


Krell Showcase 

$4000 


Krell’s Showcase is classic Krell—center-ofthe-earth 

bottom-end solidity and power, 

huge dynamics, and razor-sharp imaging. 

The video quality is also superb, although the 

remote control leaves something to be desired. 

Outstanding build-quality and gorgeous 

cosmetics round out this outstanding player. 


Meridian G08CD 

$4395 


The G08 replaces the popular 588 and is built 

around a computer-style CD/DVD-ROM 

drive capable of spinning the disc much faster 

than needed for standard CD operation. 

According to Meridian, this allows for multiple 

high-speed re-reads, providing ten times the 

error-correction rate of a conventional CD 

player. Once the data are recovered, DSP chips 

upsample the digital signal to 24-bit/176.4kHz. 

As with the rest of the G Series, the sound is 

effortless, refined, and gorgeous. 


Plinius CD-101 

$4495 

plinius.com 

The CD-101 is a reference-quality product 

in minimalist chic clothing—a lavish musical 

performer and attention-grabber with drive and 

pace to burn. Its hyper-detailing, speed, and low 

noise floor suggest a slightly cooler personality, 

but the lack of edginess suggests new heights 

of resolution and a reduction in distortion. 

Without a numeric display, the lethargic track 

navigation (via pulsating pin lights) takes a few 

spins to get used to. Includes balanced and 

single-ended outputs. The massive machined 

remote control could easily be a lethal weapon. 


Accuphase DP-57 

$4900 

accuphase.com 

A low-level resolution and detail champ, 

the DP-57 has one of the sweetest treble 

ranges NG has heard in this price range. 

Add to that reference-quality soundstaging and 

ambience retrieval, and the DP-57 becomes a 

superior playback source—with even higher 

marks for classical music aficionados. Perhaps 

a little relaxed for hard rock while lighter in 

the bass and softer on transients than some, 

it still remains a class leader in finesse and 

refinement. Exceptionally fast transport and 

search functions. Balanced and single-ended 

outputs. 



Lexicon RT-20 

$4995 

harmanspecialtygroup.com 

The RT-20 is a true universal player that is 

equally at home playing CD, SACD, or DVD- 

A. This top-of-the-line player has an extremely 

low noise floor, lightning-fast dynamics, and a 

huge, deep soundstage. In addition to being an 

exceptional-sounding audio player, the RT-20 

excels at video playback. 


Linn Unidisk SC 

$4999 

linn.co.uk 

Another true universal player, the Unidisk SC 

plays CD, SACD, DVD-A, and DVD-Video. 

According to Barry Willis, who surveyed 16 

disc players in The Perfect Vision Issue 67, the 

Linn’s sound quality “was in a class by itself— 

simultaneously lush and detailed, with a deep, 

silent background and reach-out-and-touch-it 

soundstaging.” The Unidisk SC is more than 

a universal player; it’s also a remote-controlled 

preamp, digital-to-analog converter, and the 

hub of a Linn-centric, networked, distributedaudio 

system. An outstanding machine and a 

great value. 


$5000–$10,000 

Ayre C-5xe Universal player 

$5950 

ayre.com 

Serving music lovers by eschewing video 

playback and multichannel audio, Ayre has 

established a high-water mark for multi-format 

players. The C5 is not only consistent across all 

formats—it excels across all (stereo) formats by 

performing at or very near the current state-ofthe-art. 


Esoteric X-03 

$7700 

teac.com 

The Esoteric X-03 produces one of the most 

natural, refined, luminous, and above all, 

sophisticated sounds that our reviewer has heard 

from a digital player. Glare, grunge, and grit are 

utterly foreign to this full and mellow-sounding 

model, which is more interested in the big 

picture than spotlighting details. The Esoteric 

lingers over notes, giving them their full value. 

Its sound is not effervescent, but stately with 

extremely measured and regular pacing. 

Reviewed by JHeilbrunn, Issue 161 

MBL 1521 A CD Drive and 

1511 E DAC 

$9130 and $8910 

mbl-germany.de 

As with other MBL electronics, these digital 

items are helping to redefine what’s possible 

in their categories. It’s not that they sound 

like analog; they do not. What they do is 

provide a richness of tone color, seamless 

resolution of musical lines, refinement 

of dynamic nuance, dimensionality, and 

sense of involvement that goes beyond 

anything WG has before experienced with 

digital playback. But, beware, because these 

products make listening to CDs such a fresh, 

lively, and deeply involving experience, 

you’re likely to start spending large chunks 

of your discretionary income on all kinds of 

new music. 



Theta Generation VIII DAC 

$10,000 

thetadigital.com 

For almost 20 years, Theta’s digital processors 

have excelled in three areas: bass depth and 

power, soundstaging, and dynamics. The Gen 

VIII carries on that tradition, with a center-ofthe-earth 

bottom end that establishes a 

solid rhythmic and tonal foundation for 

the music. Bass-guitar lines simply purr 

through the Gen VIII. This new DAC is, 

however, somewhat of a departure from 

Theta’s “house sound” in that the Gen 

VIII has a sweeter treble and an overall 

softer presentation that fosters a greater 

intimacy with the music. 

RH 

Meridian 808 Signature 

Reference 

$12,995 


The 808 has a wonderfully detailed and highly 

resolved presentation, with the ability to present 

fine nuances of instrumental timbre, microdynamic 

shadings, and low-level spatial cues


that will floor you. No detail, no matter how 

small, escapes the 808’s scrutiny. As a result, 

instruments sound more lifelike and less like 

synthetic recreations. 

Reviewed by SK with RH comment, Issue 164 

Meridian 800 CD/DVD-A 

Player 

$19,950–$22,500 


This flagship product is the current stateof-the-art 

in DVD-Audio playback. If you 

want to hear DVD-Audio at its best, look no 

further than the 800. In addition, the 800 is 

a world-class CD player. Modular card-cage 

construction allows custom configuration 

and upgrades. A reference-quality product. 


MBL 1621 A CD Transport 

and 1611 E Digital-to-Analog 

Converter 

$42,510 ($21,010 and $21,500) 

mbl.com 

If you’re heavily invested in Red Book CD, 

you may not know how good it can get 

until you audition this pricey-but-worth-it 

transport and DAC from MBL. If there is 

better CD playback, JV hasn’t heard it. It isn’t 

just the magical level of musical detail—much 

of it previously unheard—that this combo is 

capable of eliciting from silver disc, nor its 

unusually lifelike timbres, nor the unparalleled 

extension, definition, and slam of its bass. 

It is the MBLs’ overall gestalt—the analoglike 

taste of dimensionality and solidity that 

they add to virtually every CD—that truly 

astonishes. 


Turntables 

Under $1000 

Music Hall MMF-5 

w/Goldring 1012GX 

cartridge 

$629 


Music Hall’s integrated 

turntable package provides 

the LP lover with a warm, 

musically engaging, and 

affordable vinyl playback 

solution. Its bass isn’t the most 

defined, and it’s a bit forward 

in the upper midrange, but the 

Music Hall is an outstanding 

value. 

Reviewed by Stephan Harrell, 

Issue 135 


Rega P3 

$695 

soundorg.com 

Rega’s newest-edition P3 includes refinements 

to the base and motor-mounting assembly 

for a sound that has more air and detail, better 

imaging, and lower noise than earlier versions. 

Comes equipped with the RB300 arm and is 

available in a rainbow of colors. 

Reviewed by David Morrell, Issue 127 

$1000–$2000 

Clearaudio Emotion/ Satisfy 

$1000 


Following Clearaudio’s pattern, the Emotion 

sports an acrylic plinth, high-quality bearing 

assembly, and matte acrylic platter, which is 

belt-driven by a decoupled synchronous motor. 

The Satisfy arm is a gimbaled-bearing design 

whose minimalist, one-bolt cartridge carrier 

makes alignment a snap. It offers a dynamically 

lively and engaging presentation, conveys bass 

with power and speed, and works well with any 

number of cartridges. 


Rega P5 

$1295 

soundorg.com 

When paired with Rega’s Exact phono cartridge, 

this ’table produced a highly musical sound that 

JH preferred to most digital players, regardless of 

price. The P5 is a low-vibration/low-coloration 

design that “is as close to a ‘set it and forget it’ 

analog front-end as you’re likely to find,” and 

“the absence of ‘groove noise’ is astonishing.” 


Pro-Ject RM 9.1 

$1499 ($1999 as tested with Sumiko 

Blackbird cartridge, which is $799 when sold 

separately) 


With the RM-9.1, Pro-Ject has made an already 

good design much better, and without raising the 

price. Like some of its competitors, notably the 

Rega P5 and VPI Scout, it includes an arm that 

is far superior to the stock arms you’ll find on 

entry-level turntables, and the Sumiko Blackbird’s 

performance comes close to that of some higherpriced 

lower-output moving coils. Better still, the 

sound of this combo can be taken to new heights 

by adding the “Groove-It Deluxe” base and a 

good external speed controller. 


VPI Aries Scout w/JMW-9 

$1600 

vpiindustries.com 

If you want to experience a huge taste of 

analog heaven without the hellish price tag, 

the VPI Aries Scout deserves your attention. 

This simple, affordable ’table uses an inverted 

bearing with a Teflon thrust plate and a scaleddown 

version of the JMW unipivot arm to 

create an exceptionally quiet background and 

high signal-to-noise ratio, so music leaps out of 

silence into the room. It’s a snap to set up, but 

since the Scout lacks a suspension we strongly 

recommend some kind of rack or base that will 

isolate it from offending vibration. 

Reviewed by SM, AVguide.com, 11/2002 

Funk Firm Funk Vector 

$1950 


From its Ameoba-like plinth, to its one-motor, 

three-pulley drive, to its unusual platter, to its 

tweaked Rega arm, to its name, the Funk 

Vector brings an excellent level of 

sound to this range of analog playback. 

Though its presentation is a bit light 

when compared with upper-end highmass 

designs, this ’table’s sound is well 

balanced and nicely detailed. 

WG (review forthcoming)


$2000–$5000 

Basis 1400 Signature 

$2200 

basisaudio.com 

Clean, lively, and nimble, the Basis 1400 lacks 

the great authority, deep black backgrounds, 

and projection of size and scale of the really 

great turntables. But this combination proves 

eminently satisfying and doesn’t leave you 

hankering for something else. 


Kuzma Stabi S 

$2400 

themusic.com 

The Stabi S is Kuzma’s least expensive 

turntable, but you wouldn’t know it to 

listen to the thing. Blessed with deep, warm 

background silences reminiscent of the 

hush you’d hear in an auditorium before a 

concert begins, the Stabi S makes a great 

complement to the Stogi S tonearm. Not a 

good choice for rooms where footfalls will 

be a problem (because it is unsuspended), 

it is otherwise a fine mid-priced ’table. 

Hint: Kuzma’s deluxe Stabi S/Stogi S 

package is specially priced and includes 

an outboard power supply box. 


Linn Sondek LP12 

$2400 (turntable only) 

linninc.com 

The original high-end turntable, Linn’s LP12 

conveys the rhythm and pace that are the very 

foundations of music, and it gets better with 

age—owners of any vintage LP12 can upgrade 

to the current model. 

SB, Recommended Systems, Issue 136 

Wilson Benesch Full Circle 

analog system 

$3495 

wilson-benesch.com 

Wilson Benesch’s Full Circle analog system 

bundles the Full Circle turntable, A.C.T. 0.5 

tonearm, and Ply moving-coil cartridge in 

a specially priced package. The Full Circle 

succeeds brilliantly as a high-quality, midpriced 

turnkey analog system, and it also 

happens to be one of the most visually 

appealing audio products. But one of the 

most compelling reasons to buy a Full Circle 

rig is that it offers a ready-made systemgrowth 

path, because both the core table 


and arm are capable of supporting higherperformance 

cartridges than the standardissue 

Ply. 


$5000–$10,000 

Clearaudio Master Solution 

AMG 

$5000 


The essential sound of this Clearaudio model 

is, well, clear, with a fine sense of quickness and 

transient speed. This acrylic and stainless-steel 

beauty will accept up to three arms, and offers 

good detail, high-frequency extension, air, and 

rhythmic pulse. It leans a bit toward the lighter 

side, though, and benefits from the optional 

Outer Limit ($900), a hefty ring that heightens 

the platter’s flywheel effect and doubles as a 

warp-flattening device. 


SOTA Cosmos Series III 

$5950 

sotaturntables.com 

This classic turntable boasts superior tonal 

neutrality, soundstaging, background silence, 

and isolation. Virtually any tonearm that weighs 

less than 2.5 pounds can be accommodated 

for optimal performance, while the massive 

suspended subassembly renders the Cosmos 

essentially immune to any form of structuralborne 

feedback. A vacuum hold-down system 

eliminates warps while binding the record to 

the platter far more intimately than any clamp 

or ring. 


Well-Tempered Lab Reference II 

$6578 

welltemperedlab.com 

This belt-driven turntable (equipped with 

the “trapeze-like” Well-Tempered arm) is as 

rich-sounding as the best, and as long-term 

listenable. All it lacks is a little dynamic 

oomph, a little openness in the top treble, 

and a little detail in comparison to the top arms 

and ’tables. 


SME Model 10A 

$7999 


This magnificent integrated turntable is one 

of those rare products with that difficult-todefine 

sense of rightness. The arm is SME’s 

excellent 309, the platter/mat/clamping system 

rivals some vacuum hold-downs, and the sound 

has extraordinary stability, control, definition, 

dynamics, and detail, sacrificing only that last 

degree of blackness of background and size 

and scale that larger, heavier turntables seem to 

command. 



Clearaudio Maximum Solution 

$11,500 


Second only to Clearaudio’s Master 

Reference turntable, the Maximum 

Solution is essentially a fully tricked-out 

version of the basic Solution. One can 

start with the Solution and upgrade to various 

levels culminating in the Maximum 

Solution. The Maximum Solution 

is startling in its deep black 

background, complete lack of lowfrequency 

noise, and apparent ability 

to reduce LP surface noise. The 

result is LP playback in which the music 

emerges from a digital-like silence. Dynamics 

are stunning, as are clarity and definition 

through the midband. 

RH 

Redpoint Model B 

$12,500 

redpoint-audio-design.com 

This massive three-piece, lead-shot and 

silicone-damped ’table (it has separate arm and 

motor pods) delivers a very low noise floor, a 

spectacular sense of space and dimensionality, 

the feeling of near-limitless dynamic power, 

remarkable degrees of detail (not for detail’s 

sake but simply as a part of the musical fabric 

that had previously been obscured), and a 

terrific top-to-bottom balance. 

Reviewed by WG, 

Issue 156


SME Model 20/II 

$13,999 (with IV.VI arm) 


SME has deliberately designed the tweaking 

out of its turntables, and this middle-of-thetop-range 

model is a beautiful example of the 

SME approach. Although some have accused 

it of being over-built, this ’table and arm are 

masterpieces of industrial engineering and 

design, with a greater degree of control over the 

playing of LPs than any others PS has used. 


Basis Debut Signature 

$15,900 

basisaudio.com 

This beautifully made vacuum hold-down 

turntable from A.J. Conti gives up little to the 

very best. All it lacks in comparison is a touch 

of weight and authority in the bottom octaves, 

some stage width and depth, and a bit of 

overall smoothness and dynamic life. Detailed, 

authoritative, and rich in tone color, the Basis 

combines extremely well with the Graham 

unipivot tonearm and Conti’s own Vector arm. 

Debut V Reviewed by JV, Issue 132 

Kuzma Stabi XL Reference 

turntable and Air Line arm 

$27,000 

themusic.com 

Well, the venerable Walker Proscenium Gold 

record player finally has some competition, 

and the Kuzma Stabi XL/Air Line is it. This 

gorgeous, wonderfully well-engineered and 

easy-to-use-and-adjust, twin-motored, beltdriven 

’table and outboard air-bearing arm 

challenges the Walker in resolution, transparency, 

and transient response. A point-by-point 

comparison awaits a significant upgrade to the 

Walker (see the Walker entry for details), but, in 

the nonce, the less-expensive Kuzma combo is 

a no-brainer recommendation. Stay tuned for 

the Kuzma/Walker shootout in Issue 167. 


SME Model 30/2 

$29,999 


Mounted with the SME Series IV.VI arm, 

PS praised the 30/2’s tonal neutrality, pitch 

accuracy, resolution, transparency, rhythmic grip, 


ambience, low coloration, and 

soundstaging, concluding, 

“But what specifically 

accounts for the special 

effect this turntable seems 

to have on even the most 

jaded listeners lies in three 

related areas of sonic 

performance: background 

silence, dynamics, and that elusive 

impression of liveliness, vitality, and 

whatever terms you use to describe that 

sense of involvement that persuades you the 

music has come alive in your living room.” 


Walker Proscenium Black 

Diamond turntable and 

tonearm 

$40,000 

walkeraudio.com 

The massive (350-pound) Walker Proscenium 

Black Diamond turntable/tonearm transforms 

many of the smartest ideas from turntables 

and arms past into a contemporary work of 

audio art that not only sounds fantastic but 

looks fantastic, too. A snap to adjust and use, 

the Walker brings out the best from any LP. 

And now, with Walker’s new and amazingly 

improved tonearm, the best source component 

JV has tested thus far has taken a significant leap 

forward in overall sound (and it was scarcely 

chopped liver to start with). JV’s reference. 


Tonearms 

Under $1000 

Rega RB300 

$395 

soundorg.com 

Turntable manufacturers who don’t build their 

own arms frequently package their models with 

Rega’s terrific-sounding and affordable RB300. 

Musically compelling, with excellent balance 

and good detail, if not the final word in any one 

category. 

Reviewed by DM, Issue 127 

Kuzma Stogi S 

$900 

kuzma.si 

Brilliant in its deceptive simplicity, the Stogi S is 

a hydraulically damped unipivot with a simple 

string-and-weight anti-skating mechanism, dual 

underslung counterweights, and provisions 

for making both coarse and fine azimuth 

adjustments. In our reviewer’s system, this arm 

enabled a Shelter 90X cartridge to produce 

almost shockingly three-dimensional sound 

with rock-solid bass. This arm is bundled in 

Kuzma’s specially priced deluxe Stabi S/Stogi S 

package, which we highly recommend. 


Wilson Benesch A.C.T. 0.5 

$999 


Wilson Benesch’s unusual A.C.T. 0.5 tonearm 

features a tapered carbon-fiber arm tube 

that offers ten times the torsional stiffness of 

titanium, five times the specific stiffness of steel, 

and “an order of magnitude better damping 

than most engineering metals.” Equipped with 

a kinematic bearing that handles much like 

a unipivot, the A.C.T. 0.5 is a strong, stylish, 

ultra-low-friction device that works beautifully 

with affordable cartridges, but can also tap the 

potential of higher-priced moving coils. An 

arm your system can grow with over time, the 

A.C.T. 0.5 is also included in Wilson Benesch’s 

Full Circle analog system. 


$1000–$2000 

VPI JMW-9 Signature 

$1400 


The JMW-9 Signature is part of what makes 

VPI’s Super Scoutmaster Signature so super. 

Compared to the standard JMW-9, the 

Signature version offers worthwhile upgrades 

such as a stainless steel bearing assembly, fine 

tracking force adjustment on the counterweight 

stem, Nordost Valhalla wiring in the arm and 

its junction box, variable fluid damping, a 

mechanical anti-skate control, and a higher 

effective mass design that makes the Signature 

appropriate for use with light, low-compliance 

cartridges. HP praised the Super Scoutmaster 

Signature package for its “considerable dynamic


‘jump’,” “solid if not perfectly articulated 

bottom octave,” and “musical authenticity.” 

CM (Reviewed by HP, Issue 159) 

SME 309 

$1899 


A black tapered titanium beauty, the 309 is a rarity 

in today’s high-performance models—an arm 

with a removable head shell for easier cartridge 

swapping. Also see SME Model 10A, above. 


$2000–$3000 

VPI JMW-10.5 & JMW-12.5 

$2000 and $2400 


Available in 10" and 12" versions, this beautifully 

made unipivot may be trickier to set up than 

some, but its sound rewards the effort. It’s 

highly revealing without being cold, with some 

of the deepest, most powerful bass to be heard. 

VTA adjustment during playback allows for 

exceptional fine-tuning. 


Tri-Planar VII 

$3900 


triplanar.com 

An analog classic, the Tri-Planar VII incorporates 

the late Herb Papier’s final thoughts on arm 

design. Built by his handpicked successor, Tri 

Mai, the Tri-Planar VII is more neutral than 

earlier versions, with outstanding solidity and 

focus, holographic soundstaging, superb detail, 

dynamic range, and nuance. Like the best of 

today’s components, the Tri-Planar gives the 

impression that there is less electro-mechanical 

stuff between you and the music. 


SME Series V 

$4499 


Robust and dynamic-sounding, the now and 

forever classic SME V is rich with features that 

include a cast-magnesium one-piece wand, 

ABEC 7 bearings, and fluid-controlled lateral 

damping. The V projects a ripe, soothing 

character with unsurpassed bass resolution, 

excellent inner detail, and great tracking ability. 

NG 

Kuzma Air Line 

$8000 

themusic.com 

A gorgeous, easily-adjustable, outboard airbearing 

tonearm that runs at around 65psi— 

higher than most, making for a tight, quick, 


low-noise, very-high-resolution sound. The Air 

Line seems to bring out the best in virtually any 

cartridge—from tough trackers like the London 

Reference to great trackers like the Clearaudio 

Titanium and Air Tight PC-1. 


Cartridges 

Under $500 

Grado Prestige Gold 

$180 

gradolabs.com 

Grado’s Prestige Gold cartridge has its flaws— 

a lack of inner detail and audible grain chief 

among them—but its strengths are such that you 

can easily listen through them. These include a 

somewhat too warm yet very pleasant (and yes, 

euphonious) balance, a sweet if not hugely airy 

treble, and taut if not especially layered bass. 

The overall presentation is lively. 


Sumiko Blue Point 

Special EVOIII 

$399 


Sumiko’s Blue Point Special has a reputation as 

one of the best entry-level, high-output movingcoil 

cartridges available, and the EVOIII offers 

substantial improvements over the original—a 

fundamental heartiness, terrific top-to-bottom 

consistency, and the ability to gracefully handle 

tracking challenges. Its sins are mostly those 

of omission, meaning that this is one moving 

coil that will not bite you with excess edge 

or glare. 


$500–$1000 

Grado Reference Sonata 

$500 

gradolabs.com 

A wonderful performer, the Sonata may lack the 

transparency and resolution of the very best, yet 

it delivers a naturally sweet treble, refined tone 

colors, and very good detail, particularly in the 

midband. 


Benz Micro ACE 

$550 


The ACE’s mission is to make many of the 

virtues of high-end moving coils available to 

audiophiles on a budget, and at this it is a great 

success. You’ll enjoy a sound that offers a wideopen 

midrange, plenty of definition and air 

around instruments and voices, and tight, clean 

bass. With the right phonostage, the ACE can 

do a great job of walking that fine line between 

resolution on the one hand, and smoothness 

and warmth on the other. 


Lyra Dorian 

$750 

immediasound.com 

Lyra’s entry-level Dorian—also available in a 

mono configuration—is a relatively high-output 

moving-coil with terrifically good sound that 

Lyra fans will recognize. Though not as detailed, 

dynamic, and nuanced as the company’s top 

models, the Lyra is a very clean, musical design 

that offers wonderful value. 


Sumiko Blackbird 

$799 


This high-output moving-coil is smooth yet 

detailed, with a wide soundstage and fine lowend 

authority. Massed strings lack the uppermidrange 

glare one hears with some moving 

coils in this class, and can even sound lush. 

Midrange instruments, such as voices and saxes 

are particularly seductive; images are stable; and 

transparency, transient quickness, and inner 

detail are all good. 

Reviewed by JH, Issue 164


Wilson Benesch PLY 

$750 


Built by Benz to Wilson Benesch 

specifications, the carbon fiber-framed Ply 

moving-coil cartridge is offered in low- 

(.58mV) and high-output (1.58mV) formats. 

At its best, the Ply blends some of the virtues 

of two other strong contenders in this class, 

namely, the Sumiko Blackbird and the Shelter 

501 MkII. The Ply offers a touch of the 

dynamic liveliness and transient detail of 

the Blackbird, plus a taste of the effortless 

three-dimensionality of the 501 MkII. It’s a 

pleasing combination. 


Dynavector Karat 17D Mk II 

$850 

dynavector.co.jp 

A luscious midrange, superb dynamics, and 

overall neutrality from the midbass through 

the highs translate into an impression of 

both high accuracy and glorious musicality. 

Soundstaging is spectacular, imaging spot-on, 

tracking superb. 


Shelter 501 Mk II 

$850 

axiss-usa.com 

The 501 Mk II is one of those rare products 

that does everything well—and some 

things spectacularly well. Its superb threedimensionality 

brings to life recordings one 

thought lacking in spaciousness, while its 

neutral tonal balance, audiophile virtues 

(resolution, focus, air, transient speed, extension 

at both frequency extremes), and overarching 

cohesiveness “always seemed cut from whole 

cloth.” Add these factors together and you have 

a cartridge that takes you about as close as you 

can get to top-tier performance at this price 

point. 



$1000–$2000 

Grado Reference 

$1200 

gradolabs.com 

A beautiful-sounding moving-iron cartridge, 

not the last word in detail or transient speed 

or top-end air, the Reference is nonetheless 

enormously musical. 

Reviewed by Adam Walinsky, Issue 112 

Sumiko Celebration 

$1500 


This low-output moving coil yields a dark, mellow 

sound that, while far from accurate, is certainly 

high in listenability and musicality. Difficult to 

rate, as it has certainly succeeded in achieving 

what its designers set out to do, even if that isn’t 

quite the absolute sound. Average tracking. 


Lyra Helikon 

$1995; $2195 for SL and Mono versions 


An excellent soundstager with phenomenally 

good bass, the Helikon is a little cool and white 

in balance, though not analytical-sounding. The 

bargain in high-end moving-coil cartridges. 

HP’s Workshop, Issues 132 and 136 


Shelter 90x 

$2700 

axiss-usa.com 

A top contender at a more than a fair 

price, the Shelter 90x may not be the very 

last word in transparency and dynamic nuance, 

but it comes mighty close, with the bonuses of 

exceptionally solid bass, a warm lovely midrange, 

and a big bloomy soundstage. 

JV/Reviewed by WG, Issue 160 

Benz Ruby 3 

$3000 


This low-output moving coil’s easy tonal 

character highlights no single virtue at the expense 

of others. It’s got fine harmonic, ambient, and 

spatial resolution, excellent tracking, sweet and 

mellow textures, and plays down groove grit 

without a hint of concealment. 

Reviewed by Art Pfeffer, Issue 129 

Koetsu Rosewood 

Signature 

$3500 


The great-great-grandson of the cartridge 

that started the latter-day moving-coil craze 

(the Supex), the Rosewood is relatively 

high in Technicoloration, but who cares 

When something sounds this beautiful, 

exceptions should be made—and regularly 

are by audiophiles who are more interested 

in hearing timbres sound gorgeous than 

hearing them sound “audiophile-neutral.” 


London Reference 

$4500 

mayaudio.com 

London/Decca’s classic, cantilever-less, 

“positive-scanning,” moving-iron cartridge 

has just been brought into the 21st century 

with a new stylus, chassis, and magnetic 

engine. If you think moving coils sound 

“fast,” you ain’t heard nothing yet! Transient 

response is simply terrific. Paradoxically, the 

London doesn’t have quite the very-low-level 

resolution of a great mc, but then it doesn’t 

have the hi-fi etch, either. The London 

also boasts sensationally lifelike bass and a 

midrange-to-die-for. An indifferent tracker, 

it will require careful tonearm-matching and 

setup. JV’s mm (well, mi) refrence. 


Micromagic Diamond 

$5000 

axiss-usa.com 

A truly beautiful-sounding cartridge, the 

Diamond allows the most fleeting events—a 

barely tapped rim shot or softly swooshed 

hi-hat—to come across as closer to the real 

things. Bass notes, however, while exquisitely 

defined, are not as rich as they are with 

some other designs, and on rock and jazz 

this model never quite lets loose. That said, 

because the Magic is so refined, natural, and 

lovely-sounding, classical enthusiasts should 

give it a long listen. 

Reviewed by WG, Issue 160


Lyra Titan mono 

$5495 


The Titan mono is a stunning achievement. 

So large and coherent is the soundstage that 

it can sometimes be difficult to tell whether a 

recording is in stereo or not. Whether it’s playing 

a 1929 Louis Armstrong Hot 7 session or an 

old Blue Note, the Titan delivers taut bass and 

a wealth of detail. While not as refined as the 

stereo Dynavector XV1-S, it packs more punch. 

If you have a substantial mono collection, the 

Titan will prove more than worthy of its name 

and its steep price. 

JHeilbrunn (review forthcoming) 

Air Tight PC-1 

$5500 

axiss-usa.com 

Here is a genuine surprise—a world-beating mc 

from an unlikely source, SET-manufacturer Air 

Tight. Although JV just extolled the London for 

its transient speed, the PC-1 sounds like a London 

on steroids. Whip-fast, high in resolution, low in 

coloration, and a great soundstager/imager, the 

PC-1 is the state of the art in mc’s. A mustaudition, 

if moving coils are your 

ticket. JV’s new mc reference. 


Clearaudio Titanium 

$6000 


Unquestionably the most musical 

cartridge Clearaudio has yet 

produced. It isn’t as if Clearaudio 

has sacrificed detail for this 

newfound musicality; on the contrary, 

the Titanium is even more detailed than previous 

Clearaudios. It is the quality of the detail—the 

amount of rich, realistic tone color and dynamic 

nuance that has been added—which makes this 

thing so good. 


Tuners 

Magnum Dynalab MD106T 

$4000 

magnumdynalab.com 

A high-end system isn’t fully dressed without a 

great FM tuner, and this all-analog triode design 

emphatically makes that case. Its quiet, black 

backgrounds, and sparkling, airy treble easily 

exceed Magnum’s own budget-conscious winner, 

the MD-90. Terrific sensitivity and selectivity give 

the MD106T exceptional focus and soundstaging. 

A tactile pleasure to operate, the green tuning-eye 

tube makes fine-tuning almost as much fun as a 

vintage Marantz or Sequerra tuner. 



Multichannel 

Controllers 

$1000–$3000 

Outlaw Audio 990 

$1099 


The Internet-only Outlaws have bushwhacked 

the competition yet again. Brimming with hot 

features like dual subwoofer outputs, DVI 

video-switching, and eight channels of balanced 

outputs. More importantly, music is reproduced 

with brio in bypass mode. There’s a rock-steady 

midrange balance and a sense of musicality that 

soothes the soul. Its personality is slightly darker 

than neutral and veers to the warmer side of the 

sonic spectrum. Transient speed and harmonic 

resolution could stir the pot a bit more. And 

soundstaging and imaging are mid-pack at best; 

still, nabbing one these is like getting away with 

a felony. 


Rotel RSP-1098 

$2999 

rotel.com 

The Rotel’s large, colorful 3.5"-by-6" TFT display 

might garner all the buzz, but it’s the RSP-1098’s 

audiophile-grade sonics—vivid extension and 

detail—that boost it near the top of its class. 

Great functionality and features are mated with 

the latest Crystal 24-bit/192kHz DACs and 

surround-decoding formats. With a true 7.1- 

multichannel analog bypass and sophisticated 

bass-management options, this is a controller to 

listen to, even if you never see another movie. 

Reviewed by NG, TPV Issue 51 and AT in this 

issue 

Krell Showcase 

$4500 

$3000–$6000 


This successor to Krell’s Home Theater 

Standard 7.1 is the fifth generation of Krell 

surround-sound preamp/processors. Although 

it does not currently have DVI-D or HDMI 

video inputs or outputs, the Showcase offers 

proprietary software-based seven-channel 

digital room equalization and, of course, Krell’s 

superior analog preamplification circuitry, which 

is among the best in high-end audio/video. This 

controller comes very close to the sound of an 

ultra-high-end preamp when playing back CD 

or high-res audio. 

Reviewed by JV, TPV Issue 55 

Anthem Statement D2 

$5000 

anthemav.com 

With every surround-sound mode you could 

need, the new Anthem Statement D2 is a 

very sophisticated processor with state-of-theart 

features and excellent sound quality. The 

D2 exhibits such incredible clarity, openness, 

and detail that an experienced audio engineer 

could probably identify the microphone used 

in the recordings. We particularly appreciated 

the elaborate set-up and control capabilities, 

balanced-line inputs and outputs, and excellent 

construction quality. 

Reviewed by Gary Altunian, TPV, 

Issue 57 

Arcam FMJ AV9 

$5795 

audiophilesystems.com 

In philosophy, features, and sonic 

priorities, the Arcam AV9 is all 

about analog, though its digital 

performance is respectable. If most 

of your music sources are analog— 

including CD and DVD players 

with analog outputs—the AV9 would make a 

formidable centerpiece for a combined hometheater/music 

system. RH’s reference. 


Halcro SSP-100 

$9990 


halcro.com 

Halcro’s SSP100 prioritizes digital sonics 

and features, and for appropriate sources 

the result is superb. Of course, none of the 

SSP100’s digital goodness would be audible 

if it didn’t also encompass a truly fine analog 

stage. Sadly, there seems to be no satisfactory 

way to directly access it. If there were, this 

controller’s analog source performance would 

presumably equal or better that of its digital 

inputs. As it stands, those with primarily 

digital sources, and the requisite cash, should 

place the SSP100 at the top of their musicminded 

controller list. 

Reviewed by AT, Issue 164


Theta Casablanca III 

and Six Shooter 

Casablanca III, $8000−$20,620 (depending 

upon configuration). Typical price, $10,000– 

$15,000; Six Shooter, $2000 


The Theta combination is a testament to what 

a manufacturer can achieve with sufficient 

thoughtfulness and resources. The Casablanca 

III with Six Shooter lacks not a single important 

musically-oriented feature. Furthermore, this 

combo¹s sound makes neither apologies to nor 

compromises with excellent stand-alone analog 

components. The Six Shooter inspires only 

two wishes: that Theta will bring its benefits 

to less expensive controllers, and that other 

manufacturers will emulate this demonstrably 

superior approach. 


Multichannel 

Amplifiers 

$1000–$3000 

Outlaw Audio 7125 

$999 


It may not turn any heads with its looks, but 

with seven smooth channels of 125Wpc 

performance and heavyweight power reserves 

the 7125 is likely to change some minds. (For 

balanced inputs check out Outlaw’s 200Wpc 

Model 7700.) Like its sibling, the 990 controller, 

it’s a bit darker in character, but possessed of 

a rich and punchy low end with good weight. 

Although not the final word in resolution and 

transparency, it’s probably the final word in 

dual-purpose performance for under a grand. 


Rotel RMB-1075 

$999 

rotel.com 

Rotel’s THX Ultra RMB-1075 provides a 

robust 120 watts into five channels with a 

smooth midrange and plenty of weight. Its 

sound is slightly rounded off and not quite 

as transparent as the best, but it is still a 

remarkable value. 



NAD T 973 

$1999 


Employing modular monoblock architecture, 

the seven-channel T 973 outputs a generous, 

easygoing 140Wpc. Solid power reserves, 

superior bass definition, and a warm upper 

treble continue the NAD tradition of audio 

excitement tempered with refinement and 

understatement. The back panel has convenient 

input-level trim controls. There was a hint of 

fan noise at loud listening levels. Triggers link 

the amp with the T 163 controller for seamless 

on/off switching. 


Parasound Halo A52 

$2000 

parasound.com 

Designed by the legendary John 

Curl (of early Mark Levinson 

fame), the robust, 5x125-watt A52 

is essentially a multichannel version 

of Parasound’s award-winning A23 

stereo amplifier. Those who prize 

flexibility will appreciate this amp’s 

balanced and single-ended inputs and 

individual level controls for each channel. With 

sound that is warm, natural, and never edgy 

(though not the last word in definition). 


Cary Cinema 5 

$4000 

$3000–$6000 

caryaudio.com 

Cary’s Cinema 5 is a superb achievement. At 

80 pounds, this medium-sized unit isn’t as 

heavy or large (or costly) as many state-of-theart 

performers; yet it delivers much the same 

sound quality. Excellent definition, fine dynamic 

gradation, rich harmonics, and a transparent 

window to the source. 


Anthem Statement P5 

$5000 

anthemav.com 

The Statement P5 is the “poster amp” for highcurrent 

amplifiers, with 14 output transistors 

per channel, vastly increasing the available 

power for musical crescendos. Actually five 

monoblock power amplifiers in one chassis, 

each capable of 325 watts, it has no shared 

power supplies; each channel has its own 

toroidal transformer, meaning there are no 

common audio paths between channels. The 

P5 sounds very authoritative—always in control 

of the speakers—with effortless dynamics and 

tight deep bass. 

Reviewed by GA, TPV Issue 57 


Theta Digital Dreadnaught II 

$7100, five-channel version; 

$8100, ten-channel version 


Like the original Dreadnaught, the Dread II is fully 

balanced with zero global feedback. The new model 

delivers more power and impact, along with better 

low-end authority and control, stunning resolution, 

and incredible soundstage depth and focus. It also 

has more energy in the upper midrange and treble 

than its predecessor, sacrificing just a bit of the 

original’s warmth and musicality. 

Reviewed by SB, TPV Issue 46 

Audio Research 150M 

$7495 for five-channel version ($900/ 

additional power module) 


A stunning—and stunningly successful— 

departure for the high-end Tube Gods of 

Audio Research Corporation. This relatively 

lightweight, entirely modular (the 150M can 

be fitted with up to seven power amplification 

modules, each rated at 150W into 8 ohms and 

300W into 4 ohms), cool-running, Class T amp 

produces a surprisingly ARC-like sound. A little 

bright, forward, and weighted toward the treble, 

the 150M has much of the natural airiness and 

light of ARC tubes, with terrific soundstaging, 

dynamics, and clarity for multichannel. 

Reviewed by JV, TPV Issue 51 

Krell Theater Amplifier 

Standard 

$8000 


A very Krell-like FPB (Fully Power Balanced) 

five-channel amplifier that generates a powerfulsounding 

200W into 8 ohms and 400W into 4. 

The Krell, like the ARC 150M, shares much of 

the build-quality and sound of its celebrated 

monoblock siblings: a rich, articulate, slightly 

dark, and very hard-hitting presentation that is 

voluptuous on music and pin-you-to-your seat 

stunning on film soundtracks. You won’t lack 

for weight or impact with this baby—and its 

soundstage is phenomenal. 

Reviewed by JV, TPV Issue 51


Plinius Odeon 

$8595–$11,995, depending on number of 

channels 

pliniususa.com 

With its modular design, user-selectable 

number of channels, superior build-quality, 

and outstanding sound, the Odeon is a top 

contender in multichannel designs. Its sound 

is characterized by effortless dynamics, a 

rock-solid and rhythmically engaging bottom 

end, and midrange and treble purity on a 

par with the best solid-state two-channel 

amplifiers. 

Reviewed by RH, TPV Issue 50 


VK-6200 

$10,995 (fully loaded or $5995 for twochannels; 

$1250 each additional channel) 

balanced.com 

No matter how many channels you order 

it with—it accepts as many as six—BAT’s 

modular VK-6200 is one of the best-sounding 

amplifiers around. The massive but strikinglooking 

chassis weighs 200 pounds when fully 

loaded; parts and build-quality are top-drawer; 

and the sound combines seemingly limitless 

reserves of power with amazing delicacy, air, 

transparency, and speed. 


Music Servers 

and Multichannel 

Receivers 

See our Music Server Buyer’s 

Guide in TPV Issue 70 

Interconnects, 

Speaker Cables, 

and Power Cords 

Acoustic Zen Technologies 

Tsunami II and Gargantua II 

Power Cords 

$350 and $1488 

acousticzen.com 

The Gargantua II is well named. At $1488, it 

is hardly an accessory, but it surprised SR by 

revealing in her reference system a new level 

of its native sweet clarity. SR uses the $350 

Tsunami II with less-expensive gear and in her 

small system, and has found it an important 

addition to some designs and a worthy upgrade 

with others. Both cords have the nice habit of 

clarifying delicate highs, deepening perceived 

bass, and opening up and airing out the 

soundstage. 

SR (review forthcoming) 


AudioQuest Jaguar/DBS 

Interconnect 

$300/one-meter pair 

audioquest.com 

The entry-level interconnect for AudioQuest’s 

battery-powered DBS (dielectric bias system) 

technology. The Jaguar’s highs are well-defined 

yet sweet-sounding; its bass is taut yet possesses 

plenty of weight and warmth and a heaping 

helping of three-dimensionality. DBS technology 

gives these cables a stable, perpetually “warmed 

up and ready to go” quality. Though not the last 

word in transparency, the Jaguars do a great job 

of balancing clarity and smoothness. 


AudioQuest CV-8/DBS Speaker 

Cable 

$400/eight-foot pair 


The least-expensive speaker cable that has 

AudioQuest’s battery-powered DBS technology, 

the CV-8 offers well-defined and nicely weighted 

bass, a neutral midrange with a hint of warmth, 

clear but never edgy highs, and truly excellent 

soundstaging. Roundness on transients makes 

this cable easy to listen through for hours on 

end. 

Reviewed by NG, Issue 147, and CM in 

AVguide.com, 11/2003 

AudioQuest DBS Cheetah 

Interconnect and Kilimanjaro 

Speaker Cable 

Interconnect: $900/one-meter pair; Speaker: 



AudioQuest’s Cheetah and “KJ” use silver 

wire with battery packs that bias the cable’s 

dielectrics to keep them fully formed at all 

times. These cables are the closest thing SB has 

yet heard to removing cables from a system 

entirely, revealing layer upon layer of depth and 

pure transparency. And because the dielectric is 

always charged, your system is always ready to 

go instead of hours of “warm-up” away, a 

bonus with phono playback gear. 

SB 

Crystal Cable 

CrystalConnect 

Micro Interconnect 

and CrystalSpeak 

Micro Speaker Cable 

Interconnect:$599/one-meter 

pair; Speaker: $2600/threemeter 

pair 

crystalcable.com 

Clean, composed and transparent, 

the delicate and jewel-like Crystal 

Micro cables offer an open soundstage 

where images snap into focus and music 

is conveyed with a turbine-like smoothness. 

Even some minor deductions at the frequency 

extremes, namely some softness in the bass 

and a bit of forwardness in the treble, don’t 

remotely diminish the achievement of one of 

the most transparent cables NG has heard. 

Unique splitter rings allows easy change-out of 

terminations or bi-wire upgrades. 


Harmonic Technology Magic 

Link One Interconnect 

$800/one-meter pair (RCA or XLR) 

harmonictech.com 

A longtime favorite of writer Sue Kraft, the 

Harmonic Technology Magic Link One IC has 

never met a component it didn’t like. Which 

means once you invest your hard-earned money 

in these cables, you won’t be forced to replace 

them and lose $$$ with your next system 

upgrade. With improved clarity and articulation 

over Harmonic Tech’s more affordable Pro 

Silway line, the Magic Link One consistently 

yields smooth, extended highs, a delightfully full 

and natural midrange, and solid bass. You may 

find other pricier interconnects that excel in one 

specific area or another, but when it comes to 

overall system synergy, this is one cable you’ll be 

“wearing” like a favorite pair of shoes. 

SK 

Harmonic Technology Pro-11 + 

Speaker Cable 


The TechPro-11+ is sensual, romantic, and 

highly present with vocals, with full rich body 

and a slight forwardness. There’s a distinct 

sweetness in the upper octaves that, once 

experienced, makes it tough to live without. 

Soundstage reproduction is also a strong suit, 

as the full weight and breadth of an orchestra 

seem to laterally expand with this wire. 

Reviewed by NG, Issue 146


Kimber Kable Hero 

Interconnect 


kimberkable.com 

Not surprisingly, this is a sonic near-twin to PS’s 

longstanding reference, Kimber Select KS-1021, 

yielding by direct comparison only a tiny bit in 

sheer control, ultimate top-end transparency, 

and inner detailing. The Hero’s bass lives up to 

its name, prodigious in amplitude and definition 

(rather better even than its pricier brother). 

This interconnect is either dead neutral or tilts 

a notch to the yang, with dynamics at once 

powerful yet finely resolved in an essentially 

grain-free presentation. 


Kimber Kable 8TC Speaker 

Cable 


kimberkable.com 

Tilting a tad toward the yin, the 8TC has that 

elusive ability to remain musical no matter 

what is happening fore or aft. Ensembles both 

large and small receive an open projection that 

ideally mediates detail, liveliness, tonal neutrality, 

and dynamic contrasts, with a very realistic 

soundstage that’s holographic in its integrity. 

This cable has been around for a commendably 

long time; having used it for well over 15 years 

through countless changes in equipment and 

rooms, PS can personally vouch for its versatility 

and behavior: great neutrality, transparency, and 

musicality, without ever causing amplifiers any 

distress. 


Legenburg Hermes S 

Interconnect and Speaker Cable 

Interconnect: $971/three-foot pair; Speaker: 


legenburg.com 

Instilled with an unshakable midrange 

tonal balance, high-octane dynamics, and 

the merest suggestion of treble warmth, 

Legenburg’s serpentine cabling nearly 

disappears into the music and makes for the 

one of the sweetest of listening experiences. 

Exquisitely manufactured and sporting 

rectangular mono-crystal copper conductors, 

Hermes S comes ever closer to becoming the 

“uncable.” 

NG (review forthcoming) 


MIT AVt 1 Speaker Cable 


mitcables.com 

Perhaps canted ever so slightly toward the yang, 

the MIT AVt 1 counts power and definition 

among its many virtues. Perhaps there is ever 

so slightly less a sense of bloom than with other 

cables, but the AVt 1 nevertheless suggests great 

openness, with a remarkable ability to project 

musical events into the room and an impression 

of snap and bite that in the best sense of those 

words is irresistible. On difficult orchestral 

material, the MIT excavates breathtaking detail 

amid a wide, deep soundstage; the precision of 

the imaging is especially notable. Absolutely 

convincing in its musicality. 


MIT Magnum MA Speaker Cable 


mitcables.com 

Over the past four years, no cable has dethroned 

MIT’s Oracle V2 in RH’s system—until MIT’s 

new MA (Maximum Articulation) showed up. 

Although the same price as the discontinued 

Oracle V2, the new MA is vastly improved in 

every way, with far greater resolution, greater 

separation of individual instrumental lines, 

more space and depth, and a shocking increase 

in bottom-end depth, power, and articulation. 

Even with no break-in, the MA brought out 

a whole new level of performance from RH’s 

system. 

RH 

Nordost Blue Heaven 




nordost.com 

Similar in personality, the Blue Heaven 

interconnects and cables excel at low-level 

detail, upper-octave smoothness, and transient 

speed. Also expect to hear exceptional inner 

detail and nuance emerge from the velvety 

black and silent background. Note that it may 

be a bit on the cool clinical side for some 

treble-happy systems, but remains ideal for 

neutral and darker ones. 


Nordost Baldur Interconnect 

and Speaker Cable 

Interconnect:$499/one meter; Speaker: 

$1380/three-meter pair 

nordost.com 

Baldur, part of Nordost’s midrange Norse line 

of ribbon cables, brings much of the balance 

and harmonic integrity of state-of-the-art 

Valhalla to prices even “normal” audiophiles (as 

opposed to normal people) can afford. It has 

a buttery way with transients and isolates lowlevel 

details with the best of them. Although 

never edgy there is a whitish zone in the lower 

treble, an additive that will be dependant on your 

system. Perhaps not as weighty and focused as 

some but with an overall balance and musicality 

that are addictive. 


Nordost Valhalla Interconnect 

and Speaker Cable 


$5995/1.5-meter pair 

nordost.com 

In any system into which you insert these topof-the-line 

(and hideously expensive) Nordost 

statement products, you’ll get the same results, 

which one might describe as no results in the 

sense that they introduce no audible colorations 

that HP can hear, and believe me, he’s tried. If 

ever there were an audio product HP would be 

tempted to call well nigh perfect, the Valhallas 

would be it. 

HP’s Workshop, Issue 136 

Nordost Brahma Power Cord 

$1499/two meters 

nordost.com 

As with Nordost’s interconnect and speaker 

cables, the Brahma cord reduces noise and hash 

and improves dynamics, bass pitch, and overall 

clarity while always sounding neutral. 

WG 

PNF Audio Icon Interconnect 

and Symphony Speaker Cable 

Icon: $190/one-meter pair; Symphony: $400/ 

ten-foot pair 

pnfaudio.com 

PNF produces one of the finest sets of 

reasonably priced cables we have heard. We say 

“sets” here, because the Icon and Symphony 

offer complementary strengths and work best 

when used together, with a huge amount of 

resolution and focus, clear and deeply extended 

bass, dynamic expressiveness, and the ability to 

enhance both clarity and smoothness. They lean 

toward the “clarity” side, so avoid components 

with midrange brightness or edge. 


Purist Audio Design Dominus 



$14,090/1.5-meter pair 

puristaudiodesign.com 

The all-silver Dominus is very detailed, very 

dynamic, very rich. Less open than Nordost 

Valhalla and darker in balance than Kharma 

Enigma, it is also quieter than both, and because 

of its fluid-damped construction, virtually 

immune to floorborne and airborne vibration. 

JV


Rega Couple Interconnect 

$150/1-meter pair 

rega.co.uk 

The Couples offer plenty of upper midrange/ 

treble detail, with fine resolution of textures, yet 

without exaggerated transients or edginess. Their 

bass is tight and punchy, and they are wonderfully 

neutral throughout the midrange. While they 

don’t offer the almost “luminous” midrange 

quality you’ll hear in some very expensive cables, 

their essential neutrality makes a fine substitute 

for a “pennies-on-the-dollar” price. 

Reviewed by CM, AVguide.com, 10/2003 

Richard Gray’s Power Company 

High Tension Wire Power Cord 

$450 and up 

richardgrayspowercompany.com 

Exotic power cords are something of a 

conundrum—they make an immediate and 

obvious change in sound quality, but seldom 

are the changes unequivocally for the better. 

RGPC’s High Tension Wires are tonally neutral 

and, unlike many exotic power cords, they don’t 

cause more problems than they solve. The 

HTWs do the things you want a power cord to 

do—the background is blacker, more real detail 

is revealed, and dynamics are extended—without 

getting in the way of anything your system does right. 

SB 

Shunyata Python Power Cord 

$995 

shunyata.com 

As RH put it in his review, “the idea that a power 

cord comes at the end of a very long powertransmission 

system is purely one of perspective. 

From the amplifier’s point of view the power cord 

is the first few feet of the power-deliver system.” 

With the Python, expect greatly improved 

transparency, soundstaging, tighter focus, and 

air, “fostering a greater impression of hearing an 

actual instrument in an acoustic space.” 


Siltech Paris MXT Interconnect 


siltechcables.com 

The only tonal anomaly of this superb 

interconnect is a slightly recessed midrange— 

very slight—that throws the tonal balance about 

three degrees to the yin, albeit in no way that’s 

unmusical. Otherwise, it has a smooth, tube-like 

sound that’s not the least sibilant, while the lowend 

is warm and solid. Like many components 

that have a slight midrange trough, the entire 

presentation is somewhat set back, with a rather 

conspicuous rendering of depth. The Paris 

reproduces the gestalt of a musical event with 

stunning transparency, detail, and cohesion— 

everything in its proper place. 



Siltech New York MXT Speaker 

Cable 


siltechcables.com 

Luxurious as an Italian loafer, the Siltech New 

York MXT is sensibly weighted toward the 

midrange and basically neutral in balance, with 

a slightly rounded treble. Virtually grain-free 

and one of the most harmonically palpable and 

realistic in its price range, it also offers excellent 

low-level resolution. Though soundstage 

dimensionality could be improved, no serious 

faults trip this up. 


Paul Speltz “Anti-Cable” 

Speaker Cable 

$80 (8-foot pair w/spades) 

anticables.com 

A godsend to those who want good 

sound but don’t want to spend 

big bucks. SK was blown away 

by their neutrality and lack of 

coloration, high frequencies 

that are open and clear with 

no tizziness, a midrange of exceptional clarity, 

transparency and detail, and bass that’s extended, 

with remarkable articulation. 


Synergistic Research REL-spec 

Subwoofer Cable 

$1200 

synergisticresearch.com 

Pricey but potent, these inspired subwoofers 

cables are specifically optimized for REL 

subwoofers and include the REL-specified 

Neutrik connectors. They improved the inherent 

musicality and pitch precision of the Britannia 

B3 in every instance—the lowered noise floor 

yields more detail, an enhanced sense of space, 

and expanded ambience retrieval. 


Synergistic Research Alpha 

Interconnect 



Balance and transparency are its strengths, along 

with a rich midrange and a sweet, smooth, never 

forced or strident treble. The affordable Alpha 

challenges some of the finest reference cables 

out there. 


Synergistic Research Absolute 

Reference X2 Interconnect and 

Speaker Cable 

Interconnect: $3800/ one-meter pair; Speaker: 



Synergistic’s top-of-the-line “active shielded” 

cable must be plugged 

into a power supply 

that, in turn, generates 

a very small amount 

of current to bias 

the dielectric. If this 

sounds complicated, it 

is a bit, but the results 

are impressive: dead 

quiet backgrounds and 

higher amplitude signals. 

The Absolute Reference 

X2 sounds a bit like Nordost 

Valhalla with denser tone 

color, fuller body, and higher 

output. A beguiling alternative 

for those who like the sound 

of Nordost cable but long for 

a bit more “there” there. 

JV 

TARA Labs RSC Air 1 and Air 

1 Series 2 Interconnect and 

Speaker Cable 

Interconnect: $995/one meter; Speaker: 

$2350/ ten-foot pair 

taralabs.com 

Everything about these cables says big— 

dynamics, extension, and volume. It’s also one 

of the mellower cables I’ve heard with a darker 

character, and a deeply polished and resonant 

signature that should appeal to many. They 

have an expansive soundstage and orchestral 

images always seem more rooted and stable. 

Ambience retrieval is at a cutting-edge level. 

Separate positive and negative speaker runs for 

each channel. 


TARA Labs Zero Interconnect 

and Omega Speaker Cable 

Zero interconnect: $12,800/one meter ($1800 

per additional meter); Omega speaker cable: 

$11,995/10 feet ($1000 per additional foot); 

The Zero digital cable: $5995/one meter 

($1200 per additional meter) 

taralabs.com 

In spite of the remarkable level of engineering 

that TARA Labs’ flagship cable and interconnect 

represent (the Zeros use a vacuum dielectric), 

JV is fully aware that recommending any wires 

that put you out 40 to 50 grand is borderline 

insane. (Well, not even borderline.) Nonetheless, 

the Zero’s X-ray ability to clarify very-low-level 

tone colors, dynamic nuances, and performance 

details way back in the mix; its remarkable 

level of ambience retrieval; its electrifying 

transient speed and definition; its front-toback 

transparency; and its bottom-octave color, 

clarity, and authority are unrivaled thus far in his 

experience. 

Reviewed by JV, Issue 159


TARA Labs The One Power Cord 

$1295/6 feet 

taralabs.com 

Although the difference it makes might not be 

quite as staggering as the interconnect, speaker, 

and digital cables mentioned above, TARA 

Labs’ “The One” power cord has much the 

same effect as the company’s other remarkable 

wires, and it rounds out the top-of-the-line 

package with top-of-the-line sound. 


Van den Hul Integration Hybrid 

Interconnect 


vandenhul.com 

This superb interconnect is smooth, sweet, 

and perhaps a little tubey but very natural and 

musically involving. On complex orchestral 

material where there’s a lot going on, the Van 

den Hul displays exemplary control and projects 

a very convincing impression of air, space, and 

dimensionality, with instruments focused in 

a space of their own. The Integration is aptly 

named, rendering any source fed it with a 

persuasive sense of coherence. 


Virtual Dynamics Master Series 

Power Cord 

$2100/five foot 

virtualdynamics.ca 

Detailed and extended, exceedingly quiet, and 

so filled with micro-dynamic details that you’ll 

be prompted to reconsider volume settings on 

even your best-known source material. With 

three Mylar-treated 10-gauge solid-core copper 

conductors, the Virtual Dynamics are as unwieldy 

as mud-wrestling a python, but the rewards are 

great if you survive. Ambience retrieval could 

stand improvement but little else. 


Wireworld Equinox 5 

Speaker Cable 


wireworld.com 

“So listenable” said PS’s notes regarding this 

wonderful entry from an ever-dependable 

manufacturer. The presentation is always 

smooth, transparent, and integrated, with 

excellent dynamics, liveliness, and vitality. 

Solid bass response allows a lot of the venue’s 

acoustics to come through, while soundstaging 

is persuasive in both planes. With closely miked 

material, the Equinox mediated excessive 

brightness and detail without compromising 

dynamics. This cable does little wrong and most 

things right; need more be said Perhaps this: 

The Equinox evinced a tube-like solidity and 

roundedness to its every presentation. 



XLO Ultra 12 Speaker Cable 


xloelectric.com 

Although they land on the cool side of the 

spectrum, the Ultras possess an exceedingly 

low noise floor, a sweet, sweet treble, and 

copious amounts of transient energy that allow 

instruments to bloom like a spring bouquet. 

This cable straddles the line between detail, 

extension, warmth, and musicality without 

leaning too strongly one way or the other. 


Headphones 

and Headphone 

Amps 

AKG K501 

$199 

akg.com 

Because the drivers sit away from the ear, the 

presentation is easy and spacious—everything 

from the low-mids on up sounds like a highquality 

small speaker. While it’s an excellent 

and uncolored headphone, there is no serious 

bottom end, so it’s not ideal for those who 

thrive on large-scale classical, or rock. 

Reviewed by Dan Schwartz, Issue 156 

Grado SR60 

$69 

gradolabs.com 

The Mighty Mouse of headphones, Grado’s 

SR60 offers superb midrange transparency 

and natural dynamics. Treble is well-balanced, 

though not quite as smooth or refined as in 

some higher-priced designs. Bass is well-defined, 

but rolls off a bit early (note that many other 

headphones whose bass extends deeper than 

that of the SR60 can sound bloated or boomy 

down low). The SR60 can also be driven directly 

from an Apple iPod or other digital player. 

While they are comfortable, keep in mind that 

as an “open air” design the SR60 is not ideal for 

noisy environments. 


Grado SR325i 

$295 

gradolabs.com 

Though some listeners find Grado ’phones 

overly bright, they sound completely different 

from everything else, with a unique hearthrough-the-veils 

kind of transparency. 

Reviewed by DS, Issue 156 

Grado RA-1 headphone 

amplifier 

$350 

gradolabs.com 

With a tube-like rendering of timbre and a sweet and 

relaxed sound, the Grado RA-1 makes extended 

headphone listening a joy. Although battery-driven, 

the RA-1 is more at home in your equipment rack 

or on your desk than out on the road. A beautiful 

wooden case finishes off this gem. 


HeadRoom BitHead and Total 

BitHead Portable Headphone 

Amplifiers 

$199 and $269 

headroomaudio.com 

These portable devices work wonders on all 

music sources played through headphones— 

most especially with MP3 files, boosting sound 

levels and improving dynamics. Moreover, 

Headroom’s proprietary processing circuit 

solves the “in-the-head” imaging of headphone 

listening by seemingly projecting the image in 

front of the listener as a pair of loudspeakers 

would, generating something like a soundstage. 

The BitHead doubles as a USB-powered external 

sound card, making it ideal for listening to DVDs 

played on laptops. Recommended for frequent 

travelers, iPod owners, and anyone who listens 

to sound on the go. The BitHead’s slightly more 

expensive brother utilizes Burr-Brown parts. 


Meier-Audio Porta Corda 

headphone amplifier 

$225 without USB port, $300 with 

meieraudio.de 

This compact headphone amp is the ideal partner 

for portable music players such as the iPod. The 

Porta Corda greatly improves dynamics, tightens 

and extends the bass, and adds no additional 

noise or grunge to the music. 


Sennheiser HD650 

$495 

sennheiserusa.com 

A very revealing model, the HD650 has a 

smooth upper range and well-balanced middle 

and lower registers. While not quite as dynamic 

as some, these have a silky-sweet sound. 

Reviewed by DS, Issue 156


Shure E5c 

$549 

shure.com 

In an era when “ear bud” headphones are a 

dime-a-dozen, how can Shure possibly sell a 

$500 model Because the E5c offers stunning 

sonic performance and amazing comfort in a 

compact package that elevates the portableaudio 

experience to a new level. When combined 

with Headroom’s products and a good source 

(no MP3s, please), the E5c has electrostaticlike 

resolution, surprising bass extension, and 

outstanding clarity. This sound quality is no 

doubt due to the elaborate two-way design, with 

separate bass and treble drivers, along with a 

crossover built into the cord. The crème de la 

crème in high-end portable audio. 


UltraSone PROLine 2500 

$399 

ultrasoneusa.com 

The German-made UltraSone moves the 

driver off the center of the earpiece, so that 

rather than firing straight into your hearing 

canal it fires at the folds making up your 

outer ears. The 2500 is an open design with 

a titanium-plated driver and has an overall 

outstanding balance of virtues, purity, and 

extension, though with some recordings it can 

sound strident with strings. 

Reviewed by DS, Issue 156 

Equipment Racks 

Billy Bags Equipment 

Racks 

$300–$1200 (for Standard Series) 

billybags.com 

These sturdy, sensibly priced equipment racks 

lack state-of-the-art features such as those 

found in, for example, the Grand Prix products, 

but are effective, highly functional, attractive, 

and can be ordered in custom configurations. 

Optional lead-shot loading and spikes elevate 

performance. The Pro-Series prices increase up 

to $3000. 

RH owns Billy Bags racks 

Finite Elemente “Spider” 

$450–$2150 


The handsome and flexible “Spider” is made 

of extruded aluminum and solid beechwood 

struts, and provides a sturdy and unusually open 

platform for components. Eighteen different 

variations on an X-shaped theme are possible; 

the distance between the aluminum pillars can 

also be changed, and you can add more levels 

at any time. 

WG 


Sanus Natural 

Furniture Audio Racks 

$329 (four-shelf) to $379 (six-shelf) 

sanus.com 

Available in black, cherry, or maple, Sanus’ 

Natural Furniture racks are handsome and 

affordable. The rigid frame and ¼" glass shelves 

let your gear sound quite neutral and alive, while 

the open construction allows for good air flow 

and makes installation and hook-up a dream. 

WG 

Walker Audio Equipment Rack 

$6000 


A large (four-and-a-half-foot long) beautifully 

made equipment rack, constructed of three 

thick, oiled slabs of rock maple suspended 

between shot-filled tubes and balanced on 

Walker Audio’s huge Valid Point feet. Like all 

of Walker Audio’s tweaks, the Walker rack kills 

vibration without killing the life of the music. 

JV 

Power 

Conditioners 

Audience Adept Response 

$3800 

audience-av.com 

This expensive but extremely effective 12-outlet 

conditioner delivered significant improvements 

in bass definition and depth, overall resolution, 

and soundstage depth. Build-quality is 

exemplary. 

Reviewed by Max Shepherd, Issue 162 

Monster Cable HTS series 

power conditioners 

$150–$700 

monstercable.com 

Although we haven’t auditioned every 

conditioner in Monster Cable’s huge line, those 

we’ve heard have been extremely effective at 

lowering noise, smoothing the tonal balance, 

and improving resolution. A huge bang for the 

buck. 

RH 

Richard Gray Power 

Company 600S, 1200S, 

and Pole Pig 

$1395, $2195, and $1595 

richardgrayspowercompany.com 

What can one say about a good power 

conditioner, save that it does its job and does 

it well The RGPC 600S, in combination with 

the RGPC Pole Pig, works invisibly, lowering 

noise and increasing detail without markedly 

inhibiting dynamics or adding a noticeable 

sonic signature. For those of you living in older 

houses, these Richard Gray products are like 

adding six-to-twelve dedicated, lab-grade outlets 

to the ones you’ve got, without tearing up any 

walls or calling the electrician. 

The 1200S is RGPC’s biggest and most 

capable conditioner, offering two banks of 

six Hubbell outlets. Unlike many conditioners, 

RGPCs operate in parallel to your AC lines, 

so that system components do not, strictly 

speaking, have to be plugged into the RGPC 

in order to enjoy its sonic benefits. (However, 

we suggest plugging components through the 

RGPC in order to take advantage of its surgesuppression 

capabilities.) Significantly, the 

RGPC 1200S can often improve (and never 

limits) the sound quality of huge, blockbuster 

amplifiers. Not cheap, but these are the real 

deal. 

JV (1200S reviewed by CM, Issue 144) 

Shunyata Hydra-8 and Hydra-2 

AC Power Conditioners 

$2495 and $395 

When used as a complete system with the Hydra- 

8 on the front-end components and Hydra-2 

on the power amps, along with Shunyata’s AC 

cords, the improvement in sound quality was 

nothing short of spectacular. The improvement 

in low-level resolution alone is worth the (hefty) 

price of admission. But the Shunyata system 

also rendered a huge increase in soundstage 

focus, size, and depth. Throw in a dramatic 

increase in midrange and treble liquidity, and 

you’ve got the best AC-conditioning system 

RH has heard. 

Reviewed by RH in Issue 163 

Walker Audio Valid 

Points and Velocitor 

Power Line Enhancers 

Valid Point Supertuning kit, $450; Velocitor 

with Valid Points, power cord, and dedicated 

stand ($4245) 


Cryogenically treated, in case you want to bring 

it back to life in a decade or so, the Velocitor, 

like the Richard Gray Pole Pig, does undeniably 

lovely things for the sound of preamps, 

turntables, and digital sources that are plugged 

into it or into the circuit it is plugged into, and 

like the Gray products the Velocitor works its 

magic without masking musicality. The Valid


Points, Walker’s massive version of tiptoes, are 

sensationally effective under most components, 

particularly when used with Walker Resonance 

Control discs, which, themselves, can have a 

salubrious effect on components on which they 

are placed. 

JV 

Accessories 

Acoustic Room Systems 

$20,000–$50,000 

acousticroomsystems.com 

Money spent on real acoustic treatments is, in 

RH’s experience, the most effective allocation 

of your hi-fi budget. RH has lived with different 

acoustic products over the years, but none has 

been as effective, nor blended into the décor, 

as has the Acoustic Room Systems package. 

Although the price tag is high, the ARS system 

greatly improves bass tautness and definition, 

allows the hi-fi system to better resolve spatial 

cues, and adds to the music’s sense of palpability 

and realism. 


ASC Tube Traps 

$498–$2638 

tubetrap.com 

Unless you have a professionally designed 

and treated room, Tube Traps from 

Acoustic Sciences Corporation are absolutely 

indispensable to improving your system’s 

sound. They are extremely versatile—able 

to solve a wide range of acoustic problems 

with strategic placement and orientation. 

Boomy bass can be cured with a pair of 

16" Full Rounds in the corners behind the 

loudspeakers, soaking up excess bass like 

a sponge and conferring greater clarity and 

transient impact. Placed along the sidewalls 

between you and the loudspeakers, Tube Traps 

kill unwanted sidewall reflections, prevent 

flutter echo, and aid in diffusion. A single 

Tube Trap in the center of the wall behind 

the loudspeakers can expand soundstage 

depth. There are lots of questionable acoustic 

products on the market, but Tube Traps are 

the real deal. Acoustic Sciences Corporation 

also makes a wide variety of other effective 

acoustic-treatment products. 

RH 

Auralex Acoustics Studiofoam 

Wedges 

Price varies 

auralex.com 

If you’ve logged much time in home recording 

studios, odds are that you’ve already seen and 

heard Auralex Studiofoam Wedges in action. 

Studiofoam is highly absorptive, and therefore 


can be just the ticket for taming slap echoes or 

audible comb-filtering effects that can result 

when listeners are seated too close to the back 

walls of their listening spaces. Sold through a 

variety of outlets, including the now-ubiquitous 

Guitar Center stores, Studiofoam Wedges 

are offered in a variety of colors and wedge 

depths. Good news: Studiofoam is mercifully 

inexpensive. Auralex Studiofoam is used in The 

Perfect Vision listening lab. 

CM 

Bright Star Audio 

Iso-Rock Speaker S 

$499 

brightstaraudio.com 

This dedicated stand for Gallo’s Nucleus 

Reference 3 increases both the height and scale 

of images, drastically improves soundstage width, 

depth, and realism, and brings a truer, more 

lifelike presentation to all recordings. If you own 

the Reference 3, the IsoRock is not a tricked-out 

accessory but an essential component. 

Reviewed by Bob Gendron, Issue 156 

Clearaudio Strobo-disc and 

Strobe Light 

$60 and $150 


Featuring grooves that create the additional 

stylus drag necessary to accurately measure 

your turntable’s speed—while at the 

same time doubling as a cartridge breakin 

device—Clearaudio’s Strobo-disc and 

Strobe Light are great tools for the serious 

vinyl junkie. 

HP’s Workshop, Issue 159 

Clearaudio Matrix 

Record Cleaner 

$3000 


Clearaudio’s Matrix record cleaner is the ne 

plus ultra of record-cleaning machines. Built 

to a higher standard than many turntables, the 

Matrix provides bi-directional platter rotation, 

powerful two-level vacuum, and an adjustable 

brush. The Matrix’s sonic effect on LP playback 

goes far beyond a quieter background; lowlevel 

detail is better resolved as are spatial cues, 

contributing to a larger and more dimensional 

soundstage. A must-have for the serious LP 

collector. 


Echo Busters 

$166 and up 

echobusters.com 

The cool thing about Echo Busters, as well 

as most other room treatment, is you don’t 

have to buy the whole shebang at once. SK 

recommends starting off with a couple of 

Bass Busters or maybe just a set of Corner 

Busters. The effect is dramatic and cumulative, 

and you can add on as your budget allows. 


Express Machining 

Digital Stylus Force 

Gauge 

$160 

musicdirect.com 

This excellent gauge is accurate to 1/10th gram, 

very easy to use and store, and an affordable 

alternative to the Winds. 

WG 

Gryphon Exorcist and Black 

Exorcist Demagnetizers 

$230 each 


These nifty devices are designed to do the 

same thing—one system-wide, the other for 

phono—rid audio gear of magnetic buildup. 

The size of a remote control, the Exorcist 

hooks up to your preamp’s aux or line input, 

while you plug your arm leads into the Black 

Exorcist. Audible results include less glare and 

hash, tighter bass, and greater perceived detail 

and musical integration. 

WG 

Nordost Eco 3 Spray 

$44 (eight-ounce bottle) 

nordost.com 

Designed to eliminate the build-up of static 

charges on cables and interconnects, this 

stuff works equally well on equipment racks, 

CDs, DVDs, and turntable platters. Use when 

installing new cables or re-squirt every few 

weeks. The sound is noticeably smoother, and 

also more present and alive. 

WG 

Precision Audio Cable 

Elevators Plus 

$158 (set of eight) 

musicdirect.com 

Cable Elevators are porcelain cradles de-signed 

to lift cables and interconnects 

off the floor, shielding them 

from vibration. The salubrious 

effect they can 

have on just 

about every 

aspect of sound 

is hard to believe 

(though, like 

tiptoes, they can 

also thin tone 

colors out a bit). 

Reviewed by JV, 

Issue 142


RPG Diffusor Systems B.A.D. (Binary 

Amplitude Diffsorber) panels 

Price varies 

rpginc.com 

RPG’s B.A.D. panels are thin absorptive 

diffuser panels that can help tame problem 

room acoustics without quashing dynamics or 

swallowing midrange and high-frequency details. 

The design of B.A.D. panels is deceptively 

simple—picture a thin bat of acoustic fiberglass 

mounted in an inch-thick frame, and covered by 

a partially open/partially reflective “mask”—but 

their effects can be remarkable. In rooms treated 

with B.A.D. panels, speakers often exhibit lower 

coloration, more focused imaging, and deeper 

soundstages. RPG B.A.D. panels are used in The 

Perfect Vision listening lab. 

CM 

Sanus SF26 Steel Foundation 

speaker stands 

$170/pair 

sanus.com 

Sanus’ thoughtfully designed and beautifully 

executed SF series speaker stands do everything 

you could want a good set of stands to do, and at a 

price that makes sense. Strong, rigid, and resonancefree, 

they include provisions for installing sand or 

lead-shot damping, and are easy to assemble. 


Shakti Hallographs 

$995/pair 

shakti.com 

Master of the inexplicable, Shakti’s Ben Piazza 

has followed up on his magic “Shakti stones” 

with yet another impossible-to-explain-buteffective-as-claimed 

item, the Hallographs. 

With direct-radiating speakers, these large, 

rotatable, free-standing, tuning-fork-shaped 

items work some kind of voodoo when placed 

in the corners of a room (behind the speakers), 

masking chaotic wall reflections and “clarifying” 

the soundfield (just as Shakti says they do). Oh, 

do not ask how they did it; just make the visit. 

JV 

Shure Stylus Force Gauge 

$20 

shure.com 

Although ultimately not accurate as the best digital 

gauges, the classic “teeter-totter” Shure is simple to 

use, cheap, and does the trick very nicely. 

WG 

Townshend Seismic Sinks 

$400–$900 (depending on weight capacity) 

townshendaudio.com 

Townshend Seismic Sinks are air-bladdersuspended 

isolation platforms, available in 

several sizes and weights to accommodate a wide 

variety of components. Setup is straightforward 


and easy. Because the Sinks act as filters (around 

2–4Hz), they isolate far better than cones, 

which anchor components solidly but in so 

doing allow vibrations to be transmitted directly 

to the chassis. It is PS’s view that the so-called 

superior definition afforded by cones is often 

in fact a subtle edginess wholly absent from 

tuned suspensions. The Sinks are exceptionally 

effective with non-suspended turntables. 

PS 

Vibrapods 

$25 

vibrapod.com 

Vibrapods are small, flexible vinyl pucks that can 

transform a system. They’re numbered by their 

weight-bearing loads: Put them under speakers and 

electronics and hear bass extension and smoother 

highs. At four for $25, who says great tweaks have 

to be expensive Just out, Vibrapod Cones—use 

them as standalone footers or combine with 

Vibrapods to get even more out of your system. 

DD 

Winds ALM-1 Arm Load Meter 

$399 


Pricey but worth it, the Winds is the most 

dependably accurate digital stylus-force gauge 

on the market. 

JV 

Books 

The Complete Guide to High- 

End Audio, Third Edition 

Robert Harley 

Acapella Publishing, 2004, 640 pages, $34.95 

(paper), $44.95 (cloth) 

The most complete, up-to-date, and useful 

guide to the high end you can buy, filled with 

information about how audio components 

work, how they should be set up, how 

they can be optimized after setup that is 

indispensable to neophyte and veteran 

audiophiles alike. 

JV 

The Master Handbook of 

Acoustics, Fourth Edition 

F. Alton Everest 

McGraw-Hill/TAB, 2000, 592 pages, $39.95 

This classic book, updated over the years, is 

a crash course in how sound behaves in a 

room and how to treat rooms to improve 

sound quality. It’s not audiophile-oriented 

(no discussion of loudspeaker placement, for 

example), but explains the basic physics that 

audiophiles need to know when choosing or 

treating listening rooms. 

RH

2006 Editors’ Choice 

survival sounds, comprehend, for example, 

the large-scale structure of a symphony 

The book is short on answers, but we are 

richer for having explored the questions. 

Jourdain has a wonderful gift for making his 

subject accessible, and peppers the text with 

fascinating musical asides. 

RH 

Mastering Audio: The Art and 

the Science 

Bob Katz 

Focal Press, 2002, 319 pages, $39.95 

Although written for professional mastering 

engineers, Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science 

contains a wealth of information of interest 

to the audiophile. If you want to know 

what goes on behind the scenes 

in creating the music you enjoy, 

and learn more about digital 

audio, this comprehensive, 

insightful, and accessible book 

is without peer. 

RH 

Music, Sound & 

Technology 

John Eargle 

Springer, 1995, 368 pages, 

$114.95 

Meant primarily for college 

students, Eargle’s book is 

what it claims to be—a classic guide to musical 

acoustics. If you’re looking for the best resource 

on hi-fi systems, buy Robert Harley’s Complete 

Guide. If you’re looking for a book on how the 

various instruments make the sounds they make 

and what those sounds comprise, harmonically, 

dynamically, and temporally, Eargle’s is the 

standard text. 

JV 

Music, The Brain, and Ecstasy 

Robert Jourdain 

Perennial, 1998, 400 pages, $13.95 

Combining musicology, psychoacoustics, 

and neural science, Robert Jourdain weaves 

a fascinating exploration of why human 

brains find beauty and meaning in music. 

Why do our brains, evolved to detect 

The NPR Listener’s Encyclopedia 

of Classical Music 

Ted Libbey 

Workman, 2005, 979 pages, $19.95 

TAS contributor Ted Libbey has published 

this nifty tome that is a must-buy for the 

classical music lover—from the novice to 

the knowledgeable. Written in a friendly yet 

informed style, this book is not only chock-full 

of information it has a very cool interactive 

feature (via the Naxos Web site) that allows you 

to hear recorded examples while you’re reading. 

Reviewed by WG in this issue 

Quad—The Closest Approach 

Ken Kessler 

International Audio Group, 2004, 215 pages, $80 

U.K. audio writer Ken Kessler has documented 

the history, products, and contributions to audio 

of one of the seminal 

high-end companies 

in Quad—The Closest 

Approach. The book 

contains interviews 

with Quad founder 

Peter Walker and his 

son Ross, reprints of 

old ads, Walker’s original 

papers on loudspeaker 

and amplifier design, 

and other bits of interest 

to Quad fans. Although 

pricey, this LP-sized 

coffee-table book is 

gorgeously produced and printed. 

RH 

Sound Bites: 50 Years of Hi-Fi 

News 

Ken Kessler and Steve Harris 

IPC Media, London, 224 pages, £14.95 (U.S. 

availability: MusicDirect or amazon.com) 

While Hi-Fi News at fifty is the occasion for 

this book, it’s no self-congratulatory piece 

of puffery. After a long chapter on “pre 

history,” i.e., telescoping audio in the first 

half of the last century, it’s structured as a 

loose, anecdotal history of audio, centering 

principally on the men who made the 

medium from the beginning of stereo to the 

present. 


TAS 


Equipment 

Reports 

Where does one find a musical, 

reliable, and full-range tube 

monoblock for around $2k 

PrimaLuna ProLogue Six Monoblock Amplifier 

“The ProLogue 

Sixes are as 

at home with 

Audioslave as 

they are with 

Miles and 

Mahler.” 

Jim Hannon 

Where does one find highly musical and reliable, full-range tube monoblock 

amplifiers for around $2k per pair that are capable of driving most any 

loudspeaker, while also avoiding the syrupy thickness, soggy low end, and 

rolled-off highs of many classic tube designs I’ve been searching for amps with these 

attributes ever since I loaned a “former” audio buddy my custom MFA-140s, with six EL34s per chassis, and he sold 

them! A few new entries in the amplifier sweepstakes from China appeared to fit the bill, but my initial optimism 

over them waned after examining the build-quality, or should I say variability, of several. Perhaps I’m overly sensitive 

after recently speaking with the head of one audio company whose factory in China began using counterfeit parts, 

unbeknownst to him, until there were several failures in the field. Yet, I’m also aware of some companies who “ride 

herd” on their Chinese factories and are able to produce products with exceptional build-quality for a modest cost. 

PrimaLuna is one prime example. The combination of its new monoblocks driving a pair of Sonus Faber Amati 

Anniversario speakers sounded glorious at CES, so I thought they just might be the answer for me—not only to 

drive my Quads, but most any other speaker. 

The PrimaLuna Prologue Sixes come standard with four EL34s per side. I chose to review the Sixes instead of 

the KT88-based Sevens, because I prefer the more liquid midrange of the EL34 tube and am willing to trade-off 

a bit of bass punch and extension at the frequency extremes. You may not be. While the Sevens are slightly more 

expensive ($2400), they do offer upgraded Solen caps and fast-recovery diodes. Both versions use point-to-point 

wiring, which I prefer, not only for its potential sonic advantages, but also for its ease of servicing and modifying. It’s 

a big reason why so many of the classic McIntosh and Marantz tube amplifiers are still working rather than being 

used as boat anchors. However, just because an amplifier offers point-to-point wiring doesn’t mean it’s always better, 

particularly if the solder joints are sloppy. There’s no need to worry here, as the workmanship on the Prologue Sixes 

is first-rate and puts the build-quality of several far more costly amplifiers to shame. These amplifiers seem to be 


PrimaLuna ProLogue Six 

Monoblock Amplifier 

built for those who plan on owning them for 

decades instead of a few years. 

If you had assumed that all tube amplifiers 

were finicky, think again. My Sixes have 

operated flawlessly with nary a hiccup. The 

PrimaLuna team has seemingly designed out 

all the potential problems one might encounter 

with a tube amplifier. It starts with the package 

design (each amp is triple-boxed) and extends 

to several product features that make these tube 

amps virtually trouble-free. For example, the 

output tubes are gently driven—the Prologue 

Six’s soft-start feature extends tube life and 

reduces the chance of both tube and internal 

part failures, while the amplifier output stage 

is protected by a fuse, and the “Adaptive 

Autobias” circuit keeps tubes operating at their 

peak ranges and reduces distortion significantly. 

Better still, there’s no need to monkey around 

with bias meters and pots or use matched sets 

of tubes. If you know how to change a light 

bulb, you’ve got all the skill you need. 

OK, so what more could these PrimaLunas 

offer beyond the Prologue Fives that Sallie 

Reynolds recommended for a previous Editors’ 

Choice Award The most obvious advantages 

are that the Sixes have more power, a separate 

chassis for each channel, new wideband 

transformers designed to handle difficult speaker 

loads (a 2-ohm tap is included), and a unique 

front-end topology which reportedly gives you 

all the sonic advantages of zero feedback but 

with drive capability, extension at the frequency 

extremes, and low distortion. Although there 

are some mighty good “dual-mono” singlechassis 

stereo amps in this price range, I prefer 

monoblocks, because they physically isolate 

the channels, and one can place the amp right 

behind the speaker, connecting to it with a very 

short length of cable. 

Unlike many larger amplifiers that seem to 

lose some of the magic enjoyed by their smaller 

counterparts, the good news is that the Prologue 

Sixes not only retain the sonic virtues of the 

PrimaLuna stereo amplifiers, but extend them. 

Their performance with my original Quads was 

superlative, with a transient quickness rivaling 

a very good solid-state amplifier but with 

harmonic richness, natural timbre, and a wide 

and focused soundstage. You won’t find any 

homogenization of sound with these tube amps 

as they revealed even minor system changes, so 

you’re out of luck if you expect to use them 

as tone controls to tame bright speakers. Even 

more surprising, the Sixes drew more bass 

and dynamics out of my original Quads, using 

KT66 output tubes, than I thought possible and 

forced me to turn down the gain because the 

music was too loud—imagine that! 

“If you know how 

to change a light bulb, 

you’ve got all the 

skill you need” 

The Sixes are as equally at home reproducing 

the sounds of Audioslave as they are with Miles 

or Mahler. I typically wouldn’t recommend most 

70-watt tube amps as ideal choices for power 

rock and electronica, but these amps have 

satisfying deep bass and really swing dynamically 

and rhythmically. On classical music, the 

transient speed of mallets hitting tympani can 

be startling, and violins have both bite and body, 

without sounding harsh. These amps reveal a lot 

of the natural subtlety in the music, and acoustic 

instruments and voices can sound life-like on 

good recordings. I sat transfixed listening to the 

late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s 

cover of “Over the Rainbow” from Alone in IZ 

World [Mountain Apple Company]. There was 

a musical rightness from the lightning attack of 

the fingers strumming the ukulele, to the natural 

timbre of the instrument, to the air behind his 

floating, lilting voice. 

While they may lack the ultimate sweetness, 

palpability, and absence of grain of some far 

more costly triode designs, or the absolute 

quietness, inner detail, and power reserves 

of some expensive transistor amplifiers, 

the Prologue Sixes gave a surprisingly good 

accounting of themselves. These amplifiers 

are obviously designed for those who want to 

enjoy the musicality of tubes without having to 

be tweaks; yet the PrimaLunas make an ideal 

platform for those audiophiles who love to 

Specs & Pricing 

DISTRIBUTOR INFORMATION 

UPSCALE AUDIO 

2504 Spring Terrace 

Upland, California 91784 

(909) 931-9686 



Power output: 70 watts per channel 

Inputs: One RCA per chassis 

Outputs: 2-, 4-, and 8-ohm speaker taps 

Tube complement: Two 12AX7s, two 12AU7s, 

four EL-34s (per amp) 

experiment with “tube-rolling” and customize 

the sound (within limits) to their own preferences. 

They are optimized for EL-34, 6L6GC, KT66, 

and 7581 output tubes, but are also said to work 

with KT88s, 6550s, and KT90s. Yes, you can 

get different, but not always better, sound with 

different types of output tubes. If you want a 

bit more clarity and dimensionality, but a more 

recessed upper midrange, you might try the 

6L6GC. If you want a bit more bass punch and 

transient speed, but less liquid mids, try some 

KT66s. I can’t really say I preferred one type 

overall, as it depended on which speakers I was 

using. But remember, you can leave well enough 

alone and the sound will be really good. 

The PrimaLuna Prologue Sixes represent a 

significant breakthrough in high performance 

audio. Not only are they the most “hasslefree” 

and easy-to-operate tube amplifiers 

I’ve ever used, but they sound really good. 

The Sixes rival many (but not all) of the best 

attributes of transistor amps, but they also 

enjoy the compelling sonic virtues of tubes, 

while largely minimizing their drawbacks. To 

get this combination of natural musicality, 

power, reliability, flexibility, and build-quality, 

one would expect to spend far more. These 

surprisingly good tube monoblocks should 

keep many demanding audiophiles satisfied, but 

also encourage lots of music enthusiasts to take 

the plunge into the tube-side of the pool. 

Dimensions: 11" x 7.5" x 15.5" 

Weight: 37.5 lbs. (each) 

Price: $2295/pair for EL34-based version 


MFA Venusian preamp (modified); VPI Aries/ 

Graham/Koetsu Black, and Clearaudio Ambient/ 

Satisfy/Concerto analog turntable set ups; Musical 

Fidelity Tri-Vista 21 DAC; Eben X-3, Hyperion HPS- 

938, and Quad ESL-57 (PK modified) loudspeakers; 

Nordost Valhalla and Virtual Dynamics “David” 

interconnects, speaker cables, and power cords 


Equipment 

Report 

Rega Apollo 

CD Player 

Breakthrough performance, bargain price. 

Chris Martens 

When the British firm Rega 

introduced its original Planet 

CD player about a decade ago, 

some audiophiles hailed it as a breakthrough, 

and with good reason. The Planet’s sound 

was competitive in many respects with that of 

some of the more costly players of the day, yet 

it sold for under $900. Better still, the Planet 

was a digital player designed by and for analog 

enthusiasts. And even if it did not equal analog 

sound quality, it certainly came closer than 

any mid-priced player in my experience. Not 

surprisingly, Planets sold like hotcakes. 

Over time, Rega updated and improved the 

Planet, first offering the Planet 2000, and then 

a higher-performance player called the Jupiter, 

but neither of these critically acclaimed units 

managed to equal the Planet’s reputation. I 

would speculate that Rega has been looking 

to create another affordable breakthrough 

player ever since, and now the wait is over. 

Just as the first Planet did in the 1990s, Rega’s 

$995 Apollo offers “welcome-to-the-nextlevel” 

performance for today’s budget-minded 

audiophiles. 

Resolution, focus, and extended frequency 

response are among the performance standards 

we use to determine how good high-end CD 

players really are, and judged by these criteria 

the Rega Apollo is easily the best sub-$1000 CD 

player I’ve heard. To understand what the Apollo 


does right, I found it instructive to compare it 

both to a good mid-priced competitor and also 

to a higher-priced, top-tier reference player. 

Here’s what I learned. 

Straight out of the box, the Apollo exhibited 

more resolving power than any other mid-priced 

player I’ve auditioned thus far. For example, in 

direct comparison to YBA Designs’ $1499 

YC201 CD player—a fine player in its own 

right—the Apollo consistently retrieved layers 

of delicate textural and transient details that 

the French-designed player could not. Larry 

Coryell, Badi Assad, and John Abercrombie’s 

Three Guitars [Chesky] makes an ideal illustration, 

because it relies upon small, inner details to 

showcase differences between the playing styles 

of the three master guitarists, and to highlight 

the subtle timbral differences between the 

guitars they play. Through the YBA Designs 

player this recording sounded absolutely lovely, 

even magical, but the Rega gave me magic 

and something more. It made even subliminal 

details snap into place, as if removing a lowlevel 

veil from the signal path. Plectrum noises, 

fingering sounds, variations in attack and 

sustain, the resonant instrument overtones, 

and even the sound of the air in the room 

suddenly became explicit, bringing alive the 

three-dimensional, “you are there” qualities for 

which Chesky recordings are known. Perhaps 

the only downside to all this detail is a very 

slight tendency for the Rega to overemphasize 

sibilance, or to show minute traces of splashiness 

on abrupt high-frequency transients. But unless 

you’re using very transparent interconnects and 

electronics, I think these minor flaws would 

rarely be noticeable. 

Apart from capturing details effectively, the 

Apollo also sounds sharply focused, so that 

fundamentals and harmonics as well as details 

large and small are presented in near-perfect 

alignment. As a result, instruments and voices 

sound whole, coherent, and self-consistent— 

never fractionated or disjointed. To appreciate 

how much realism this focused quality can add, 

try listening to the very beginning of “Take Me 

Home” from Holly Cole’s Temptation [Metro 

Blue]. Just before the song starts, you’ll hear 

Cole at centerstage first mouth, then whisper, 

and finally speak aloud the words “Here we go” 

(perhaps to cue the other members of the trio 

that the recording is about to begin). Though 

Cole’s words are at first barely audible, the Rega’s 

precise focus and rock-solid imaging make them 

sound eerily believable. The Apollo delivers this 

sort of focus and coherency most of the time 

and across most of the audio spectrum, the only 

small exceptions being the infrequent moments 

of treble splashiness noted above. 

Finally, the Apollo offer beautifully extended 

frequency response with tightly controlled,

Rega Apollo CD Player 

Inside the 

Apollo 

The performance of Rega’s Apollo comes 

as no accident; rather, it results from 

several significant design advancements, 

the most important of which are the 

Apollo’s new CD transport mechanism, 

control chipset, and operating system 

software (developed for Rega by a small 

British software company). 

Unlike Rega’s earlier (Sony-based) 

transports, the Apollo transport secures 

CDs to its drive spindle via a three-point 

ball chuck—a mechanism that Rega says 

“presents the disc as flat as possible” and 

offers “better acceleration and braking 

performance.” Significantly, the new 

transport’s advanced servo-controller 

also optimizes laser “focus spot size and 

tracking position” on a disc-by-disc basis. 

For this reason, when discs are first loaded 

into the Apollo, the front-panel display 

indicates “INITIALISING” (British 

spelling) for several seconds, while 

laser characteristics are dialed in 

for the disc. 

Rega argues that “previous 

chipsets always made 

compromises on error 

correction,” but that 

its new chipset, which 

incorporates 

whopping 20MB of 

RAM and a built-in 32- 

bit DSP engine, allows 

a 

adequate time and 

computation power for 

extra error correction. 

Interestingly, this means 

there is a delay between pressing “Play” 

and hearing music, while data gradually 

fills the buffer memory. The entire IC, in 

turn, is clocked via a “super-stable phaselocked 

loop” of Rega’s own design. Rega 

paid particular attention to minimizing 

address and data bus noise in the IC 

to “ensure that the ground and signal 

connections to the DAC are as ‘clean’ as 

possible.” 

Finally, the Apollo uses the Wolfson 

WM8740 24-bit DAC with differential 

outputs, which feed a discrete “Class A” 

output stage whose sonic performance 

improves noticeably in the first 15 minutes 

after power up. 

CM 

richly textured, and very potent bass. To see 

just how energetic the Rega’s bass can be, 

put on the “Power of Denial” from Thomas 

Newman’s soundtrack from American Beauty 

[Dreamworks] and drink in the plunging, 

shuddering, very low frequency synth-bass 

figure that opens the track. Heard alongside 

the Apollo, many mid-priced players sound 

diffuse or rolled off at both frequency 

extremes. 

Only in the area of soundstage depth can 

the strongest mid-priced competitors, such 

as the YBA Designs YC201, surpass the 

performance of the Apollo. While the YBA’s 

reproduction of depth cues is truly first-rate, 

the Rega’s stage depth, for whatever reason, 

is merely very good. 

I learned a lot by comparing the Apollo 

to my reference Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 

SACD player (a $6500 unit with vacuumtube 

analog outputs). The more costly player 

offered greater smoothness, more highfrequency 

“air,” even more finely resolved 

details, better soundstage width and depth, 



THE SOUND ORGANISATION 

11140 Petal Street, Suite 350 

Dallas, Texas 75238 

(972) 234-0182 

rega.co.uk 


Supported formats: Red Book, MP3, and WMA 

Media CDs 

Type of outputs: One stereo analog, coax, and 

optical digital 

Dimensions: 17.1" x 3.9" x 10.6" 

Weight: Not specified 

Price: $995 

and perhaps a touch better bass. But the 

surprising thing was that despite these 

performance differences the overall gestalt 

of the two players was actually quite similar. 

In fact, I found it tempting to picture the 

Musical Fidelity as the more mature and 

polished embodiment of core sonic virtues 

that were already present in nascent form in 

the Rega. . 

This is precisely why the Apollo deserves 

to be considered a breakthrough product. 

While other mid-priced CD players have 

been edging toward sonic excellence by 

making gradual, incremental improvements, 

the Rega has moved forward with giant, 

confident strides to deliver sound reminiscent 

of that of multi-thousand-dollar players. 

Though this CD player’s musical reach may 

occasionally exceed its grasp, the Apollo 

takes listeners closer to the absolute sound 

than any other sub-$1000 player I’ve heard. 

Once again, Rega has given us a digital player 

that offers breakthrough performance at a 

bargain price. 


Wilson Benesch Full Circle analog system; Musical 

Surrounding Phonomena phonostage; Musical 

Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD player; YBA Designs YC201 

CD player and YA201 integrated amplifier,; Rogue 

Audio Metis preamplifier; Audio Research 300.2 

power amplifier; NuForce P-8 preamplifier and 

Reference 9 Special Edition monoblock amplifiers; 

Furutech Alpha Reference III interconnects; Cardas 

Neutral Reference speaker cables; RGPC 1200S 

power conditioner; Auralex and RPG acoustic 

treatments 


Equipment 

Report 

Arcam FMJ CD36 Player and FMJ C31 Preamplifier 

Need one spend a fortune for great sound 

Jacob Heilbrunn 

Snobbery doesn’t show up occasionally 

in the audio world. It plagues it. A few 

weeks ago, I visited a local enthusiast 

who was demo’ing some extremely expensive 

new gear from abroad. No sooner was he 

preparing to drop a record clamp onto an LP 

than a guest rushed over in a state of high 

dudgeon, harrumphing that it was imperative 

to use a special Shun Mook clamp for this 

particular jazz recording. Wielding it like a lightsaber, 

he placed it on the record, while the other 

invitees nodded sagely. Soon enough, I was 

being grilled on what type of purified water I 

use for my record cleaning regime—all while 

the music was playing. 

Now none of this will come as a surprise 

to some audiophiles, but maybe that’s the 

problem. I yield to no one in my enthusiasm 

for scrubbing LPs clean, but a little of this 

huffing and puffing over the equipment and 

so forth can quickly go a long way. Indeed, 

when music plays second fiddle, as it were, to 

the protocols for entering the highest regions 

of the audiophile world, something has gone 

slightly amiss, hasn’t it 

Confronted with this spectacle, the average 

person is either going to dismiss the high end 

as a bunch of hocus-pocus, which some of it 

is, or feel horribly intimidated, which he or she 

shouldn’t. If enjoying good sound was supposed 


to be a secret safeguarded by a clerisy charged 

with creating initiation rituals to deter all but the 

most intrepid, then many high-end aficionados 

could hardly be doing a better job. 

At a moment when electronics keep getting 

better and cheaper, however, such attitudes are 

more than a little nutty. The blunt fact is that, 

year after year, the barriers to obtaining highend 

sound get lowered. There’s no reason 

consumers shouldn’t be exposed to the amazing 

sound that can almost be had for—dare I say 

it—a song. 

The new British Arcam CD36 CD player 

and C31 preamplifier vividly brought this 

home to me. They bring top-notch technology 

to the table for sane prices ($2499 for the CD 

player, $1999 for the preamp). The CD player 

upsamples from 44.1kHz to 192kHz and 

deploys 8470 Wolfson DACs, which, Arcam’s 

literature says, are at the top of their class. It also 

has a specially damped tray, which is said to help 

reduce troublesome vibrations when the CD is 

being spun. The preamplifier can be outfitted 

with an optional phonostage module for 

moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges—a 

fillip that is becoming an increasing rarity with 

preamps these days. But the technology comes 

in a modest package: These units don’t require 

isolation pucks or fancy power cords to perform 

well. Their build-quality is good, but not lavish. 

All they provide is superb sound. 

Right out of the box, both the CD player 

and the preamplifier surprised me with their 

smooth and restrained sound. I didn’t hear 

much, if any, break-in take place, and if you 

were into ascribing national characteristics to 

audio equipment you would say that the Arcam 

units are both very stiff upper lip. They succeed, 

in other words, with quiet understatement. 

They’re as impressive for what they do not do 

as for what they do. 

For instance, I was bracing myself for 

some grain in the treble, but it never showed 

up. Instead, there was a kind of continuity 

to the sound that could hardly have been 

more enticing. Some of this legato effect 

comes from the lack of grit, which helps 

create a black background from which the 

instruments emerge. On the CD Summit 

Brass [Summit Records], for example, the 

presentation was downright spooky. You hear 

each brass instrument come in, one after the 

other, in a powerful buildup to the climax of 

Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Each 

note received its full value, rather than being 

chopped off or run into the next note, as some 

lesser CD players might do with such complex 

passages. The emotional intensity of this piece 

becomes overwhelming when it’s played back 

with such clarity. You could listen to it again

Arcam FMJ CD36 Player and FMJ 

C31 Preamplifier 

and again on Arcam’s units, and I did. 

Consistent with its cool character, the Arcam 

CD player and preamplifier were never ruffled by 

anything that I threw at them. No matter how 

tricky the passage of music, they unraveled it with 

ease. Just as the music emerged from an inky, jetblack 

background, so was the soundstage full 

and deep. Part of both units’ laidback character 

can be ascribed to a soundstage that was slightly 

recessed rather than forward. Neither ever struck 

me as being overly recessed, but some listeners 

will likely prefer a more in-your-face dynamic 

presentation. This would be particularly the case 

on large-scale orchestral music, where a little 

razzle-dazzle can be a guilty pleasure. 

Does this amount to a tube-like presentation 

on the part of the Arcam units Not a bit of it. 

There wasn’t a hint of extra bloom or ripeness 

or bloat or mellowness. There’s no reason not 

to look for surplus bloom, if that’s your bag. But 

what struck me so powerfully about the Arcam 

preamplifier and CD player was how far solidstate 

has come. Only five years ago, you would 

have been right to expect a far more relentless 

“transistor” sound. While I don’t think that 

tubes and solid-state will ever converge, it’s 

pretty hard to argue that solid-state is in some 

fundamental way deficient, at least when you 

hear this kind of sound at this price. 

For the fact is that no matter how smooth it 

sounded, the Arcam never sacrificed resolution 

or articulation. Snare drums will have you 

saluting at attention. Cymbal crashes will have 

a nice amount of sizzle and decay without 

“Out of the box the 

units surprised me 

with their smooth 

restrained sound.” 

frying your ears. Nor will the Arcams have any 

trepidation about plunging down into the nether 

regions on organ music. They’ll give you the 

intake of breath as a singer prepares to launch 

into an aria. And brass instruments will have a 

nice sonority to them, to the extent that you can 

often hear the note emerging from the bore. 

So unified did the Arcam units sound that 

to distinguish between bass, midrange, and 

treble with this preamplifier and CD player is, 

in a sense, a waste of time. The units were so 

coherent and integrated that I didn’t find myself 

trying to pick nits, or even thinking about them. 

Rather, I found the overall sound engrossing 

and somewhat confounding. At their respective 

prices, neither unit has any right to sound as 

good as it does. 

At this point, I can hear the naysayers asking, 

“Well and good, but just how good can this 

equipment really be, compared to high-dollar 

digital” Pretty darn good, I’m afraid. No, the 

Arcam CD player didn’t compete with my 

EMM Labs gear when it came to depth, slam, 

and power. Nor, I’m sure, would it match up to 

a dCS stack. Big deal. It’s not supposed to. I’m 

not even sure that it makes much sense to invest 

a lot of money in digital, at this point, because 

of how quickly the technology is advancing and 

the incipient format war once Blu-ray becomes, 

if it really does, a force in the marketplace. 

Besides, if you already have a megabuck 

system, the Arcam gear is not for you, though 

it does, I have to say, provide a kind of reality 

check. Is it really that far off from running with 


the big dogs The gap is narrower than you might 

think—or prefer. The Arcam duo is not entrylevel 

at its price. What it does is give you a ton 

of performance for spending just a little beyond 

a true budget system. I guess if I had to choose 

between one of the two units, I’d opt for the CD 

player, which offers the most for the least. 

But to be honest, I didn’t really find myself 

hankering for much more when listening to 

the Arcam units. They provided everything 

that more sophisticated digital units do, but 

with not quite as much flesh on the notes. 

There was a little oomph missing that a much 

more expensive player will belt out. Still, some 

of this may well simply be a design choice, in 

which Arcam has chosen to offer a suaver, 

more holistic sound rather than to emphasize 

any particular frequency range. Such euphonic 

colorations can initially grab your attention with 

their gee-whiz effect, but eventually become 

unrealistic and rather tiresome. It’s awfully hard 

not to admire how much Arcam has wrung out 

of the latest technology and how deftly it has 

deployed it by putting music in the foreground. 

To put this another way, with these units the 

technology is at the service of the music rather 

than the reverse. 

Having myself started out in audio with a 

fairly modest system several years ago, I fully 

appreciate the need for equipment that doesn’t 

require a second or, the way prices of audio 



AUDIOPHILE SYSTEMS, LTD. (USA) 

8709 Castle Park Drive 

Indianapolis, Indiana 46256 

(317) 849-7103 

www.aslgroup.com 


FMJ CD36 

Transport outputs: One coaxial, one optical 

Analog outputs: Two unbalanced RCA 

Dimensions: 17" x 2.7" x 10.9" 

Weight: 14.6 lbs. 

Price: $2499 

FMJ C31 

Inputs: CD plus three line-level pairs, bypass for 

equipment seem to be going these days, even 

third mortgage. Kudos to Arcam for putting 

together a sensibly priced and excellentsounding 

CD player and preamplifier which 

demonstrate that the high end can be about 

more than exorbitant prices 

theater processor, and tape, all via RCA connectors 

Outputs: Balanced via XLR connectors, unbalanced 

(buffered and direct) via RCA connectors 

Dimensions: 17" x 3.5" x 13" 

Weight: 20.5 lbs. 

Price: $1999 


VPI HR-X turntable and JMW 12.6 tonearm; 

Dynavector XV1-S and Lyra Titan mono cartridges; 

Messenger preamplifier and phonostage; Classé 

Omega and Omicron monoblock amplifiers; 

Magnepan 20.1 (with Mye stands) and Sound 

Fusion Hyperion SF-81 loudspeakers; Jena 

Labs Valkyre and Hovland Music Groove 2 

interconnects; Jena Labs Valkyre speaker cable; 

Shunyata Hydra-8 line conditioner 


new style 

classicism 

Full-out assaults on 

the state of the art, 

and priced accordingly 

Paul Seydor 

Photography by Adam Voorhes 


TAS COVER STORY 

Cruising the halls of Consumer Electronics Shows, I’ve often paused to admire the products of 

Simaudio, a Canadian firm with over twenty-five years’ experience manufacturing high-quality 

electronics. It has always had a reputation for high performance, while its uniquely styled amps 

and preamps impressed me as both eye-catching yet functional. So it was with keen enthusiasm 

that I accepted the assignment to review three of Simaudio’s flagship components from its Moon 

Evolution line: the P-8 preamplifier and W 8 amplifier, both dual-mono designs, and the Andromeda CD player. 

Intended as full-out assaults on the state of the art, and priced accordingly—a formidable $33k for the stack— these 

two-channel-only beauties attest to the tenacity of old-fashioned stereophonic reproduction in an increasingly 

multichannel world. “Old-fashioned” Perhaps “new style classicism” is more accurate. 


Given how distinctively styled the Evolution components are, I evaluated 

them almost exclusively as a stack, as that is how most purchasers will more 

than likely use them. Let’s begin with tonal balance. In my opinion, once 

you set aside electronics that are deliberately voiced to sound a certain 

way (e.g., some of Bob Carver’s amplifiers with their “Gundry dip”) or 

the occasional impedance mismatches from weird cables and/or unusual 

speaker loads, the vast majority of solid-state components have no sonic 

signature in the strictly tonal sense. This is certainly true of the Evolution 

gear. Gourmet in, gourmet out, garbage in, garbage out is pretty much the 

story here. 

But does this mean everything sounds the same Not quite. Recently I 

auditioned an expensive integrated amplifier with superb performance. But 

the Evolutions soon exposed a slight touch of dryness in that otherwise 

impressive unit, unearthing very fine details of ambience that had eluded 

it, and suggesting improved resolution—very subtle but noticeable—when 

it came to separating lines and textures. For example, on my trusty Glenn 

Gould recording of Beethoven’s First Piano Sonata [Sony], though the 

recording is dry, high resolution electronics unveil a slight cushion of air 

between the instrument and the microphones. Both amplifiers made this 

evident—the Evolutions fractionally more so. As for Gould’s notorious 

vocalisms, same story: a bit more clearly separated from the sound of the 

piano, thus more distinctly localized. 

But I get ahead of myself. As soon as I fired up the Evolutions, even 

without the obligatory break-in, I noticed an unmistakable increase in 

transparency, a “see-through” immediacy that put me in mind of the 

Boulder electronics I reviewed a couple of years ago or the McIntosh 

C46/MC402 combination that is a current reference. Coupled with 

this was a sense of total ease and relaxation in the listening experience. 

A few days later I was joined by a close friend, an audiophile of long 

experience who is also one of the most widely employed studio violinists 

in Los Angeles. Within in a few minutes his first observation was, “Man, 

these things are really easy to listen to.” It’s worth noting that this man’s 

reference at home is one of the Edge amplifiers so admired by some of 

my TAS colleagues. 

Yet the Evolutions are not just about, to use Charles Ives’ wonderful phrase, 

letting the ears lie back in an easy chair. They also exhibit extraordinary grip, 

control, and authority. One afternoon found me comparing performances 

of the Mahler Third Symphony, beginning with Esa Pekka Salonen’s 

recording of my hometown orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic 

[Sony]. The soundstage is Cinerama size, the dynamic range formidable, but 

what is truly breathtaking about this recording is its vast spaciousness. There 

seems to be no limit to the air above and beyond the orchestra, yet quiet 

passages retain their immediacy without seeming to be spotlit. For example, 

when the tympani are tapped quietly, you can “hear,” as it were, the texture 

of the skin; when the tambourines are shaken, articulation is such that you 

can almost count the spaces between the rings. Next up was Benjamin 

Zander’s recent Telarc recording. The sound of the hall in this recording is 

gorgeous, but while the space is and feels smaller than that of LA’s Dorothy 

Chandler Pavilion, the sense of sheer orchestral mass, abetted by Telarc’s 

justly famous bass response, is even more powerful. (Perhaps owing to 

the W 8’s stratospheric damping factor, bass response seemed to extend 

to the center of the earth.) Last up was Bernstein’s DG recording with the 

New York Philharmonic. Clearly multimiked, taken from concerts at Avery 

Fisher Hall, this is the least impressive sonically of the three: noticeably 

dry and lacking in atmosphere, the orchestra cohesive, yet also spotlit with 

exaggerated perspectives. Yet the close miking does reveal one thing with 

blinding clarity. Instruments actually do appear to occupy a specific space 

and stay there. In both the Sony and Telarc recordings, beautiful as they 

are, there is a subtle vagary to the imaging that gives the impression that 

nothing quite occupies its own place. The effect is rather like a focus that is 

constantly searching for ultimate sharpness. 

I have heard these effects before with other fine electronics, though 

not always to the degree that this Evolution stack resolved them. But 

more to the point is how musically involved I was that afternoon. The 

Evolutions allowed me to hear how, despite its comparatively inferior 

(though still eminently listenable) reproduction, Bernstein’s is so clearly the 

best performance, as if he had got his players literally to breathe the Mahlerian 

idiom: so nuanced in expressiveness, so epic in scope. As far as I’m 

concerned, any audio equipment that makes for this level of engagement 

in the musical experience has already discharged its highest function. 

Are the Evolution components worth their substantial price Let me 

answer that in two parts. First, nobody reading this magazine can be 

unaware that even moderately priced electronics have reached such a level of 

performance that the decision to purchase extremely expensive alternatives 

is as much a lifestyle choice as it is the pursuit of audio excellence per se. 

That said, however, there are many consumers, including no few 

audiophiles, who like the idea of a unified electronics stack from a single 

manufacturer: preamp, amp, and source that are coordinated with respect 

to performance, features, and aesthetics. This arrangement virtually by 

definition ensures optimal matching, eliminates incompatibility, and, 

especially when styled as strikingly as those under review, makes for an 

impressive, if imposing display in a domestic setting. So in that context— 

and especially when you consider that most packaged (i.e., “lifestyle”) stacks 

don’t offer anything like this performance—the Evolution array, though 

undeniably expensive, certainly doesn’t strike me as unfairly priced with 

respect to its competition or its outstanding combination of design, build, 

parts, finish, and truly prodigious performance. It’s an investment that will 

make great music for the better part of a lifetime. 



The P 8 Preamplifier In Detail 

The preamplifier not only constitutes the brains of any audio system, it’s also the component that you use every time you operate your sound system. As such, it 

should be ergonomically friendly. To me, this means, first, most of its basic functions should be available via remote control. Second, the settings of those functions 

should be evident from the listening position. Third, it should perform its functions smoothly, quietly, and straightforwardly. 

The P 8 preamplifier is exemplary in all three areas. Despite its extraordinary complexity, flexibility, and sophistication, it is so intelligently thought out and 

intuitive that, once all the gear was in place and connected together, I had the system operating literally in about thirty seconds without consulting the manual. 

The only knob in sight is the large volume control, silky smooth in rotation, though I hardly ever had the pleasure as the handset is so well thought out. Simaudio 

calls the P 8’s volume circuit M Ray; rotating the dial engages an optical encoder that selects among an array of 0.1% tolerance metal-film resistors to provide 

a range of 530 individual settings. From 0 to 30dB, the increase is in 1dB steps; from 30 to 80dB, it is in either 1dB or 0.1dB steps depending upon the speed 

of rotation. This initially struck me as overkill—who could possibly need that many settings—but in use I found it quite appealing. No volume control I have 

ever used exhibited the control, precision, and resolution of this one, its operation flawless throughout the evaluation period. The same applies to the balance 

circuit. 

Like the Andromeda’s, the P-8’s architecture is dual chassis, the audio circuitry in one, the power supply and controller (including digital circuits, displays, and 

software processing) in the other. No global feedback and no capacitors are used anywhere in the signal chain. There are three balanced and four single-ended 

sets of inputs, all high-level. The level of each may be adjusted over a ±10dB range, and each may be assigned a custom name. Once set up, this is one preamp 

that won’t blast you with differences in loudness as you move from one input to the next. An alphanumeric display (which can be dimmed or turned off) tells you 

source, volume, and balance settings in large characters easily readable from across the room. 

Of the functional aspects of the P-8, I have just two criticisms: the lack of a stereo/mono switch and the occasional slight transient when switching inputs 

(Simaudio tells me mine is the first reported instance of such behavior). Otherwise, this preamplifier is practically a textbook on how to design a control unit 

in which every feature serves a real-world function that is truly useful and every function has been implemented in the most ergonomically pleasing way. A 

triumph. PS 



Design Features 

There are too many features and functions to detail them all in a report of this relative brevity. I’ll 

summarize some of the more salient ones, but a visit to Simaudio’s Web site is recommended if you’re 

seriously contemplating a purchase (www.simaudio.com). All three pieces share dual-mono, fully 

balanced, differential circuitry, multiple toroidal power supplies, and rugged chassis, optimized for 

rigidity and low resonance, supported by polished coned feet. Simaudio rates the W 8 power amplifier 

at 250 watts/channel into 8 ohms, and claims 64-amp peak and 26-amp continuous current, a damping 

factor over 800, and unconditional stability into any load. It operates in Class A mode for the first five 

watts. A novel self-diagnostic system detects the presence of DC and automatically shuts the amplifier 

down until the DC is removed. 

The Andromeda CD player, a Red Book-only unit, houses the transport, controls, and display in one 

chassis, the power supplies in the other (digital and analog, each has its own toroidal transformer). 

The transport is a Philips CD Pro 2 M mounted on Simaudio’s own gel-based Delta suspension. In line 

with those who believe front-loading trays compromise stability and thus sonics, the Andromeda 

loads through a drawer on the top of the chassis, with a clamp for improved stability (a clever touch is 

its slightly tacky contact surface, so that when the clamp is lifted, the CD comes with it). Upsampling is 

24-bit/705.6kHz using a Burr-Brown DF1704 digital filter with 16x oversampling. Although an integral 

player, the transport and the DAC sections can be used separately, should you want to connect, say, a 

digital music server or drive an outboard DAC. In addition to the usual controls, the front panel sports 

an absolute polarity switch. 

The entire Evolution stack can be controlled by a single handset, beautifully machined and 

contoured to fit comfortably in your grip. I have just two criticisms of the remote operation, both 

relating to the Andromeda: I’d prefer the polarity switch to be accessible from the handset and that 

random access was available at all. Since the designers wanted one handset for the whole Evolution 

series, they bizarrely left off functions that would pertain exclusively to the CD player. Any player out 

there using Philips’s RC-5 protocol that has the appropriate buttons on its handset will provide random 

access for the Andromeda, but the consumer will have to search out and purchase said remote. Pretty 

cheeky for an $11.5K player! In truth, for most CDs this isn’t much of an inconvenience, but if you’ve 

been comparing, as I have, recordings of Beethoven’s Diabelli variations, which can have as many 34 

tracks, the lack of random selection is very annoying. 

My only other complaint has to do with the manuals: all commendably thorough, well written, and 

easy to follow, but cheap in look and feel (e.g., Kinko-grade spiral binding). Why does it seem almost 

axiomatic in high-end audio that the more expensive the product, the cheesier the manuals When 

consumers lay out this kind of money, they want—and surely deserve—manuals that suggest some 

sense of occasion, designed to the same high standards set by the products themselves. PS 


MANUFACTURER INFORMATION 

SIMAUDIO LTD. 

95 Chemin du Tremblay, Unit #3 

Boucherville, Quebec 

J4B 7K4 CANADA 

(877) 980-2400 

simaudio.com 

Moon Evolution P-8 preamplifier 

Dimensions: preamp, 18.75" x 4" x 16.5"; 

controller, 18.75" x 5.5" x 16.5" 

Price: $11,000 

Moon Evolution W 8 stereo power 

amplifier 

Power: 250 watts/channel, 8 ohms; 500 

watts/channel, 4 ohms; 1000 watts/channel, 

2 ohms; 1000 watts, bridged mono 

Dimensions: 18.75" x 7.5" x 16.5" 

Price: $10,500 

Moon Evolution Andromeda CD player 

Format: Red Book only 

Dimensions: CD player, 18.75" x 5.5" x 

16.5"; power supply, 18.7" x 4" x 16.5" 

Price: $11,500 


SME Model 30 turntable; Sumiko 

Celebration and Dynavector 17D II 

cartridges; Phonomena phonostage; 

McIntosh MC2200, C46, and Quad QCtwenty-four 

preamps; McIntosh MC402 and 

Quad 909 amplifiers; Sony XA777ES SACD 

player; McIntosh MDA1000 D/A converter, 

MCD 1000 transport, and 861 universal 

player; Quad 988, ESL-57, Harbeth Compact 

7, and Spendor SP3/5 speakers; Audio Physic 

Minos subwoofer; Kimber Select and 8VS 

interconnects and speaker cable 


HP’s 

WORKSHOP 

HP’s Editor’s Choice Awards 

Speaker Systems 

The Nola Grand Reference Mk IV 

$140,000 (standard finish) 

nolaloudspeakers.com 

This “statement” design, by Carl Marchisotto, former protégé of Jon 

Dahlquist, had been evolving in ways that are refinements of the original 

design, rather than any radical rethinking of the four-tower system. (The 

two front towers do most of the work, since they contain the four-per-side 

midbass drivers, the six midrange units, and the nine Raven ribbon tweeters.) 

The latest change, however, is most striking, since Marchisotto scuttled all 

its midrange drivers, replacing them with slightly smaller but smoother and 

faster-sounding units. Oddly enough, the first thing we heard were sonic 

improvements outside the midrange: The highs from the ribbon tweeters 

sounded more open, airier, and a bit “sweeter” in the 

same way that the real thing sounds sweeter in the 

top octaves. Then we found the lows more focused, 

tighter, and much more of a whole cloth with the rest 

of the frequency spectrum. The two woofer towers, 

operating below 40Hz and consisting of four 12-inch 

ported drivers, had up until now been the Achilles heel 

of the handsome-to-behold and costly-to-own system. 

It occurred to me that maybe it was the upgrading of 

the crossover unit, also part of the Mk IV redesign, 

that might have made that critical difference at the 

frequency extremes, since Marchisotto has radically 

improved the capacitors in the external (and now much 

larger) crossover chassis and used Nordost wiring (and 

banana plugs) throughout. Marchisotto says he is now 

using capacitors in the entirely redesigned and enlarged 

crossover that are rated at 1200 volts DC (tolerance of 

one percent), monsters that are four inches long with 

a two-inch diameter. All the internal wiring is Nordost 

Valhalla, which is superb in delivering rock-solid lows. 

Even so, you’ll not get the best out of the woofs unless 

you sock it to them with plenty of power. That has meant, in our case, 

using a second ASR Emitter II to provide a well-nigh-perfect match and 

big thrills for the kick-ass-bass crowd, among whose number I sometimes 

find myself. With this system, as currently constituted, if the information 

is on the disc (be it CD or LP), you will hear it, and hear it as an inherent, 

continuously flowing part of the original, rather than with the kind of 

imposed definition that some call “hi-fi.” There maybe other “statement” 

speakers that have the authority of these speakers, but none will surpass 

the Nola’s ability to give you an uncanny sense of being in the space with 

the performers. 

The Magnepan MG 20.1 hybrid ribbon/planar 

system 

$12,500 

magnepan.com 

Dollar for dollar, these top-of-the-line Maggies represent the “best buy” 

in high-end audio. They have some critical advantages over much of their 

competition. The system consists of designer Jim Winey’s fabled true ribbon 

tweeter, and lower down, his much improved planar panels for the midrange 

and the bass. Because the speaker’s elements are free-standing panels, the 

Maggies need no enclosure, so you’ll never hear the sound of a “box,” one 

of the most pernicious colorations in audio. Since they also operate in dipolar 

fashion (the sound emanating from the panels, front and rear), the 20.ls have 

an inherent technical and acoustic advantage: They, like almost all dipolars, 

cancel out certain low-frequency resonant nodes. The absence of all these 

colorations gives the Maggies a freedom from aural strain that is not only 

refreshing, but to these ears, a closer replica of the sound of music itself. 

In this regard, they are just about unique in the field of high-end speaker 

systems. The drivers are fast—not electrostatically fast in the artificial and 

thin sense. So fast, that the initial attack takes precedence over its somewhat 

awkward rendering of decay-tails lower down in the spectrum. The biggest 

disadvantage here, for lovers of power music, is the 

tendency of the bass panels to “flap” when faced with 

great big low-frequency pulses at fortissimo levels. You 

may also want to watch out for this if you’re considering 

using the Maggies in a movie-oriented multichannel 

system. It will be inevitable that you’ll blow the fuses 

on the tweeters if you try to replicate theater sound 

levels (beware the DVD of Master and Commander), 

and, if you keep on pushing it, you may even fry the 

tweets. (They are easily replaced.) The advantage of the 

Maggies in such a system, however, is the extremely 

clear articulation it gives to dialogue and vocals. Also 

keep in mind that when the .1 channel is handled by 

subs (ours are four Thunderbolt IIIs from Nola), the 

Maggies won’t be aflappin’. 

These speakers are not high in sensitivity, and they 

do require a hefty amount of power. Winey designed 

them to be particularly forgiving of some of the 

transgressions of transistorized equipment (gear that 

usually has the power). And there are, if you’re going 

for these in a two-channel system, audible, though most 

minor, discontinuities in character between the ribbon and both the midbass 

and low-bass panel. But the 20.1s sound virtually seamless, so striking is their 

overall coherency, when compared with the big building-block speakers 

out there these days (you know the ones I mean, with boxes atop boxes). 

Remember I said “virtually.” If it’s truth to the music that’s your passion, this 

is the speaker you ought to start with. 

The Marten Coltrane system 

$50,000 

martendesign.com 

[Review to come.] Talk about a seductive sound system, this Scandinavian 

hybrid design is so mightily enchanting that it just about disarms the seriousminded 

or perfectionist critic. The stratospheric top octaves are handled by 

a “diamond” tweeter that, it is said, extends all the way out past 100kHz. 

Sure sounds like it, too. The other two drivers that handle the rest of the 

spectrum are ceramics—the first such I’ve heard in a setup of my devising 

(translated, that means here in Sea Cliff, carefully positioned in Room 2). The 


HP’s Workshop 

tweeter is, for these ears, a fascination, coming as it does hard on the 

heels of the updated dual Heil design in the new B100 from Burmester, 

and then referenced to the Ravens in the Nola system and Winey’s own 

pure ribbon setup. No, they do not all sound alike, but each one of these, 

in its own purity and truth, sets a higher standard for reproduction of 

the top octaves. I might have almost assumed, given the circumstances 

of the diamond tweet’s debut, that it might well be an ear-fryer. But no, 

no, no. It is wickedly good, quite, quite low in distortion, and has almost 

no signature of its own. The single word that keeps coming to mind 

is “purity.” The ceramics lend a kind of allure, one 

perhaps akin to Splenda, to the rest of the 

spectrum, making for a most distinctive 

sound, at least when set against other current 

designs. There is a kind of consonance with 

music’s euphony that intrigues: Is it right, or 

just gloriously, shamelessly alluring (I feel 

obliged to note that I haven’t auditioned, 

at home, any of the Kharma designs, so 

beloved by Drs. Valinosky and Garcia, 

and only once, at CES, a diamond tweeter 

in another speaker system.) The extreme 

bottom (20 to 32Hz) is mostly missing, but 

the speaker goes low enough, with quite 

good articulation of pedal points and other 

rumblings down yonder (say, the middle 30s) 

that you aren’t aware that much is missing. 

The Coltranes have a distinctive singularity 

in sound that is going to be the basis of 

audio cults, so individually does it stand out 

from the competition, and I mean that as a 

compliment. For me, the question, early on, 

is where its ultimate place is in the hierarchy 

of the absolute. 

The Burmester B-100 Hybrid 

$69,000 

burmester.de 

For a more detailed discussion of this 

“monitor-quality” new speaker from 

Burmester, you should look up my 

comments in Issue 163. It is, if anything, 

even more neutral—read that as inherently 

cooler—than the Magneplanar 20.1s 

discussed above, to the point that, 

with similar-sounding champagnecolored 

electronics (e.g., Edge, Spectral, 

Burmester), it might seem a bit chilly and 

even over-analytic. I prefer to think of it 

as extremely revealing. Reviewer’s choice, if 

you want to know what’s going on elsewhere 

in your system. But put a big tubed unit, like Jud 

Barber’s OTL Destiny, in play and the B-100’s character 

becomes romantic in a most unTeutonic way. Those of you 

who have followed Burmester’s ascending spiral into excellence over 

the years don’t need me to tell you that prior to the B-100, speaker 

sound was the company’s bête noire. This was especially noticeable in 

the old B-90, which was a fine example of the building-block school 

of speaker design, where different and not entirely coherent speakers 

are loaded atop one another, in the hope that the combination will play 

so loudly in a big enough room that incoherencies will be obliterated. 

(Do these words remind you of any current best-selling, high-gloss, 

high-end systems Sheer coincidence.) With the B-100, there are no 

jarring discrepancies sonically between the drivers of this three-way 

system, though if you listen critically, you will hear a continuity gap 

between the side-firing woofers and the direct-radiation pattern of the 

other drivers. The spectacular Heil tweeters, here doubled, rest at the 

top of the sleek, stylish, sexy-looking cabinet, and they have room to 

spare when it comes to reproducing high-frequency dynamics—the 

principal limitation of nearly every tweeter system in existence, and 

one of the impediments to a true recreation of the absolute. 

So far I haven’t been able to push them into distortion; 

indeed, there is a dynamic quality to their ability to render 

contrasts, and seemingly with no end of reserve power, 

that is electrifying. I would think that its application in this 

system constitutes a harbinger of things to come in how we 

perceive high frequencies. 

Amplification 

The ASR Emitter II Exclusive Blue 

$24,900 

fanfareintl.com 

There are no two ways about it: This is a great two-channel 

amplifier. A substantial part of its magic comes from a batterydriven 

front end—which could, one supposes, qualify it as an 

integrated amp—that accounts for its near-dead silence and 

breathtakingly low inherent noise level. In ages past, batterydriven 

designs have lacked both response at the frequency 

extremes and realistic dynamic contrasts at any frequency. 

What the designer, Friedrich Shaeffer, did here was to so 

increase the capacitance of the battery’s power supplies that 

he got wideband response and dramatic contrast differentials 

in dynamics. The ASR, which has gone through a series of 

comparatively small upgrades, packs a real punch because of 

its immense reserves of output (non-battery-driven) power— 

this is one amp that won’t waver into clipping on the Nola 

Grand References; its effect in controlling that speaker’s bass 

towers have been, putting it subtly, revelatory. The ASR does 

not sound like a solid-state amp, nor does it sound like a tubed 

unit, which has led me to speculate that it is the way tubes and 

transistors, respectively, process noise artifacts that accounts 

for much of what we judge as their “character”—with the 

extraordinarily (for the here and now) low noise floor, we are 

able to look past those colorations we used to use to define 

amps by what drives them. (In the case of the ASR, the power 

devices are shockingly ordinary.) The Emitter does have a yinlike 

darkness to its character and that character becomes more 

audible when the amp is asked to shake the house. It can also 

be a bit temperamental and isn’t that supposed to part of the 

soul of a “diva” Certainly, it qualifies as a characteristic of 

high-end gear. One last thought: Because we did not need to 

use a linestage with the ASR, we plugged phonostages and CD players 

into its assorted inputs (only one of them, unhappily, balanced). This gave 

me, at one point, the opportunity to hear what linestages were doing to the 

sound when inserted back into the Emitter, and that was, largely, to shrink 

the apparent size, dimensionality, and dynamics of individual instruments. 

(This derailed our linestage survey for the nonce.) And made clear the 

superiority of the Conrad-Johnson ART II linestage, which changed the 

soundspace and soundfield the least. 



The Joule Electra Destiny OTL monoblock 

$28,000 (the pair); $32,000 with Musicwood base 

joule-electra.com 

[Review to come.] Believe it or not, a 300-watt monoblock of tubed power, 

sans the distortions and sonic signatures introduced by output transformers. 

The Destiny is Jud Barber’s design statement. Even the briefest of auditions 

will convince you that the outer limits of tube design have hardly been 

reached and much remains to be done by innovative thinkers such as Barber. 

And its quite special qualities I shall try to delineate in a forthcoming review. 

The Burmester 911 Mk III 

$45,000 (two mono units, as tested) 

$22,500 (stereo version) 

burmester.de 

[Review to come.] Suddenly we have at hand a rash of fascinating amplifier 

designs. The 911 itself is a genuine advance over the sound of past Burmester 

electronics. It is of the same school as both the Edge and Spectral gear, which 

is to say, the sound is at almost exactly the right balance between the yin 

and yang, which holds true in all three companies’ best works, though all in 

the past have veered to the intensely yang-ish. The more elderly Burmester 

amps tended to be overly “white” (yang with a bang), and exhibited noise 

modulation artifacts as a soft, rather fine grain and dryness. But not here. 

In long, long listenings, I have become increasingly impressed with the 

911’s near sonic invisibility. So far in the evaluations, I’ve not been able to 

nail a sonic lie. And the company’s man Udo Besser says the top-of-the-line 

“statement” amp, the 909, is even better. I find this hard to believe, but we 

shall hear what we shall hear. The 911 presents the reviewer with what is 

becoming an ever-more-vexing problem in his work, and that is getting used 

to an absence of those easily identifiable traditional colorations that allowed 

us to distinguish one product from another. I don’t doubt that the 911, and 

its brothers now and in days to come, will have quirks and anomalies that 

we shall ferret out, but we are going to have to have more complex source 

material and an enhanced sonic vocabulary to do our job the better. 

The Conrad-Johnson Premier 350 

$9500 


[Review to come.] Once it’s broken in, and that takes a nauseatingly long 200 

hours or so, the Premier 350 would seem to indicate that the folks at Connie J 

have dissolved the barrier between the sound of the tubed Premier products 

and their lesser-priced solid-state works. This thing sounds like a Premier 

Eight with testicles. Keep in mind, it sounds like a throwback to the horrid 

old days of solid-state distortion until the capacitors wear in, like solid-state 

effluvia. What a surprise there is to follow. 

The Wyetech Sapphire 300B single-ended triode 

amplifier 

$6800 

wyetechlabs.com 

To these ears, the best of the single-ended-triode amp designs, which is to 

say, with none of the questionable colorations of most SETs, and a pure 

transparency that denotes a great amplifier. Good bass, too, another of its 

distinctions. 

Linestages and Phonostages 

The Conrad-Johnson ART II linestage 

(discontinued) 

$15,995 (last list price) 


The ART is still the standard bearer of linestages in our experience. As we 

noted above, in our bypass test between a direct feed into the ASR Emitter 

and a linestage inserted into its front end, the ART did less damage to the 

musical signal than any of the competing models we then had on hand 

(this assessment excluded the latest version of Burmester 011, which came 

afterward). Used with the best tubes, this thing sounds more the way the 



music sounds than any component has a right to. Even though it is noisier 

than it should be, unless retrofitted with a new set of tubes. I have never 

cottoned to its replacement, the Act II, which, to these ears, has a slightly 

glazed overall sheen without the interspatial purity that is the hallmark of 

this design. 

The Burmester 011 Mk 3 preamplifier 

$22,495 

burmester.de 

[Review to come.] A few paragraphs back, I talked about the burst of 

creative design activity at Burmester of late, and used the term spiraling 

ascendancies, or some such. We’ve had the earlier Mk 2 on hand for quite 

awhile and found it acceptable, largely because it was originally intended 

as a phonostage, but, as actually designed, it is something that has gone 

the way of the flying cow, a full-featured preamplifier combining a 

linestage and preamplification for moving-coil cartridges. Since the 011 

had been sitting quietly for some time, we asked for the latest version, 

which turned out to have considerably improved. Burmester’s Besser 

tells us these things: The output stages have been completely redesigned 

(these are available to Mk 2 owners who wish an upgrade); the input 

stages are full-balanced, pure Class A, and DC-coupled; the internal 

wiring is now pure silver; and more, the preamp has a new transformer 

and shorter wiring runs. And now it is a formidable unit, a worthy match 

for the 911 amplifier, and the possible cornerstone of an ultimate system. 

I have been using the combo in the testing of the B100 speaker and the 

Marten Coltranes. And am hog happy about the results. 

The ASR Basis Exclusive Mk II phonostage 

$6900 


This battery-operated unit, upon which I lavished praise, has undergone 

a significant modification, one that taught this reviewer something of 

a lesson. One of the HP High End Rules is that you can’t imagine the 

bettering of a statement product sometimes until you hear it bettered. 

The Basis, as such, was a revelation: It had such a low noise floor it 

allowed nuances of harmonics and spatial information to emerge from 

a velvety black background. What I didn’t hear, until the new unit came 

along, was a kind of hardness in the sound, particularly noticeable on 

forte to fortissimo. (And it still is a temperamental beast, with a tendency 

to blow its output brains out.) The new Basis does away with that 

hardness, leaving a relaxed sweetness at every dynamic level. The effect is 

most remarkably audible on the human voice. It is a stunner. 

Analog Playback Equipment: 

Cartridges, Arms, 

Turntables 

The Dynavector XV-1S cartridge 

$4250 

toffco-usa@yahoo.com 

This is, for me, the reference moving-coil cartridge. Why Because it 

is without serious sonic flaw. Without audible coloration. Devoid of 

identifiable “character,” and again, for me, the long sought-after fulfillment 

of the potential of moving-coil design. There has been a bit of fur flying 

with the U.S. importer, who believed we were tracking too heavily at 2.7 

grams; in our extensive comparisons, mistracking occurred below that 

pressure. The importer, Mike Pranka, believes it should be used at 2.2, 

especially in conjunction with Dynavector’s moving-coil step-up device, 

which, shameless me, I did not get around to testing because of the 

avalanche of other options I was considering. I hope we will be able to do 

that in the next issue or so. In any event, those of you who’ve read me over 

the years know how I shudder at the use of the adjective “best” in relation 

to any component. Nothing is perfect, especially not the “best.” But the 

XV-1S is, as far as I can tell, given my ignorant bliss, now the best. And if 

it has serious imperfections, I haven’t heard them. But the day will come. 

Remember: There is nothing that cannot be bettered, here or in any other 

part of a playback system. 

The Tom Evans Groove Plus phonostage 

$7000 

tomevansaudiodesign-usa.com 

The best and most musical-sounding solid-state phonostage. Period. 

Ought I to qualify that with the phrase: “non-battery” in operation 

The Aesthetix IO phonostage 

$9000 (second power supply, $3000 [as tested]) 


Like the modified Basis in sweetness and the kind of seductive pleasures 

that real music can afford, with just a bit more grain and texture from its 

noise artifacts, except in the two-power-supply version, which brings it 

closer to what it should be, with only a bit of audible tube rush. And I 

mean “a bit.” I do not consider this a serious failing, just as I do consider 

this a formidable performer in musical terms. For many, its sensuous 

rendition of the musical experience will make it the first choice. 



The Lab 47/Miyabi moving-coil cartridge 

$3899 

www.sakurastms@aol.com 

The Miyabi cartridges, particularly the Ivory version of many a moon 

ago, have always struck me as formidable decoders of the mechanical 

signals engraved in the vinyl groove. The Lab 47 version is a bit particular 

about the arm with which it must walk, arm in arm, so to say. With the 

Tri-Planar, it did have a noticeably larger-than-life bottom end, out 

of proportion to its pure rendition of the upper bass to lower highs. 

With the Phantom, the bottom end was richer than life (though not as 

obviously “up” in level), but its high-frequency peak made it sound a 

touch silvery, and sometimes dry, in the 20kHz range. It all depends on 

what you use it with. At its finest, in the optimum part of its range, it 

equals the Dynavector XV-1S; its colorations at the extremes, though 

not of a disqualifying seriousness, keep it just inches away from being 

the best. 

The Blue Angel Mantis cartridge 

$4995 

bertrandaudio.com 

blueangelaudio.com 

This South African hand-built design may turn out to be a serious 

rival to the supremacy of the Dynavector cartridge. I haven’t yet 

gotten its measure, though I’ve heard enough to know it means 

serious business, and it mates with alacrity and abandon to the Tri- 

Planar arm. 

The Benz LP Ebony cartridge 

$4700 


The best Benz cartridge, period. Thoroughly musical. 

The Graham Phantom pickup arm 

$4300 

www.graham-engineering.com 

[Review in the works.] Bob Graham’s work with the unipivot pickup arm has 

vouchsafed him many an admirer. I’ve had my reservations, though, about 

the chiseled coolness and hyper-“definition” of his earlier designs—qualities 

that stood antithetically to a kind of shimmering loss of focus in the depths 

of the far-field stage. But in the past several months, and after considerable 

jiggling to get its setup and installation exactly so, I’ve come to the conclusion 

that Graham has finally done it. His first accomplished work of mature 

artistry. The arm is superb. 

The Tri-Planar Mk VII pickup arm 

$4000 

triplanar.com 

We dusted off the classic Tri-Planar for the first round of cartridge tests, an 

enterprise thwarted by a missing cantilever/stylus assemblage on one of the 

two reference Dynavectors, an unhappy moment here since we have no idea 

of how this could have happened (indeed, only once before in 30 years of 

fooling around with cartridges has this occurred and then I sure-as-shootin’ 

knew why). Thus we haven’t been able to make a direct A/B between the 

Graham Phantom and this classic pickup carrier. I am, momentarily, at 

a loss to compare their merits or otherwise. Used by itself, the Tri-Planar 

is terrifically musical, though not, as noted above, a perfect match for the 

Miyabi, though a much happier one for the hand-assembled and quite sexy 

(looking) Blue Mantis. I don’t see how you could go wrong here, though it 

would be prudent to check its low-frequency resonance versus that of the 

cartridge you’ll use. 

The EAR Disc Master Magnetic table 

$13,500 (without arm) 

ear-usa.com 

[See Review, last issue.] This design represents a breakthrough in turntables, 

and as such is probably the forerunner of a revolution in LP reproduction, 

and at this late date in the life of the vinyl disc. Hard on its heels is the $100k 

(plus) Clearaudio super-version of its magnetic drive, which could well be 

the EAR’s superior (not that I may ever know, since the Clearaudio folks 

were less than thrilled by my dismissal of the so-called Everest ’table, which 

struck me as a refinement of the company’s sound without being an advance 

upon it). Others will no doubt be in the works. (N.B., This use of magnets 

is not to be confused with the magnetic-bearing suspension systems used in 

the Verdier and Blue Pearl tables.) Here, the basic drive mechanism is a belt 

that spins a circular device that contains a powerful new-age magnet. Once 

activated (and there are three useable speeds), another such device, attached 

to the platter, begins to spin because of the interaction of the magnets— 

there is no physical contact between the two. What this means in terms of 

sound is that, for the first time, you don’t hear the LP, an experience akin, 

I would suggest, to riding in a car whose wheels don’t touch the road. It’s 

spooky, and the sound bears some semblance, in the lower frequencies, to 

that of tape or the compact disc, which are untroubled by noise artifacts 

originating from the standard and until now ubiquitous turntable-spinning 

devices (from direct drives to belts). The gain in continuousness is dramatic 

and the increase in playback dynamics may surprise the unwary. I can’t say 

the system is without its cranks (what British product is). In this case, the 

belt began—unbeknownst to me—to stick, causing the platter to either 

stop spinning or, when manually helped along, to reverse directions. My 

equipment guy, Danny Gonzalez, fixed it with a bit of lube. 

I’m pretty sure there will be an argument over the very bottom octave’s 

sound (meaning 20 to 32Hz), which the true believers in massive turntable 

platters will find (and in one instance have found) wanting here. And in 

comparison with the Blue Pearl $80k import from the British Isles, it is 

something we’ll have to consider. So far, I think the overall balance of the 

sound from the table is preferable to a fat bottom end (shades of Botticelli!), 

but in a more direct comparison with this and the new 30-pound platter 

Harry Weisfeld has design for his HRX table, I may be otherwise convinced. 

Make no mistake, though, this is the future. 

The Blue Pearl JEM turntable 

$84,000 (w/single armboard) 

acousticdreams.net/adhome.htm 

[Review to come.] Just from the point of view of industrial design and 

“look,” this British import is a stunner. It is so beautifully machined and 

constructed, you can understand its extravagant cost—at that, even after 

adding an arm, thousands below the $100k cost of the far less solid-looking 

Australian Continuum, which I certainly would like to have heard (but am 

not bloody likely to, in the here and now, given the manufacturer’s satisfaction 

with the publicity a wildly positive review in $piles has generated.) There is 

little I would have liked better than to have had a shoot-out between such 

behemoths. (Oh, Fortuna, as the wandering minstrels woefully sang.) One or 

two things I’ve already discovered: This table has just maybe the smoothest 

sound I’ve heard from any. The word that pops into mind is “solid,” in the 

sense of “stereo” as derived from the Greek. Whether its virtues are strong 

enough to trump the magnetic drive of the EAR, which does not have the 

magnetic-bearing suspension this does, I can’t say. But until the EAR arrived, 

this struck me as the best-sounding turntable I had heard—remember there 

is no final judgment here—and I was, in advance, ruing the day when it 

would have to be returned to the U.S. importer. I mean, what reviewer in this 

business can afford a turntable priced in the high-kilobuck region Not this 

one. Not by a country mile. 



The VPI SuperScoutmaster 

(w/JMW Memorial arm) 

$5500 


I’ve had plenty to say about the evolution of this Harry Weisfeld design 

from its simpler days as a plain ole Scoutmaster to its present excellence 

as the “best buy” (sorry, Consumer Guide) of its kind for vinyl playback. 

It comes with arm, sans cartridge, and it is a humdinger. Sure, there is 

better, but at much greater cost and far less in the way of measurable 

sonic gains. 

CD Players 

The Lab 47/Pi Tracer 

$25,000 (with Model 4700 Power Humpty) 

sakurastms@aol.com 

[See Review, Issue 163.] I don’t want to belabor the point of the Lab 47’s 

sonic superiority to the competing units we had under evaluation the last time 

out. Suffice it to say, the Pi Tracer is a wickedly good device, although clunky 

to use, and sometimes maddeningly high end. It is no simple task, at times, to 

get the thing to operate smoothly. And it has no repeat-play function, which 

I consider a necessity, especially if you want to leave the device playing so 

that other equipment may be broken in. The disc has to be installed bottomside 

up, and locked in place with a plastic tittie that is easy to misplace. Then 

whether you can get it to play the cut you want seems to be the perfect 

illustration of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. But what the hell, it’s worth 

it to the man who wants to get the most out of his compact discs. There are 

plenty of players that work perfectly and sound digital; this one doesn’t. 

The EAR Acute 

$5495 

ear-usa.com 

In reviewing this player from Tim de Paravicini—also the auteur 

behind the magnetic-drive turntable—I subtracted a few points 

because the Acute did not exhibit the same high-frequency purity 

I heard from it in a CES demonstration. What struck me then was 

the airy sweetness and extension of its high-frequency performance, 

entirely atypical for almost all digital players, and enchanting. The unit 

that arrived in Sea Cliff some weeks later simply did not have the same 

purity and translucency in the highs, although throughout the rest of 

its range, it was in the top rank of CD systems. After the review was 

written, we had a visit from Dan Meinwald, the U.S. importer (who 

was bringing the Marten speakers and trouble-shooting the difficult 

Helius pickup arm that the Baron Tim was recommending for use 

with his magnetic-drive table). I mentioned my reservations about 

the way the sound of the player had changed from there to here, and 

he pulled out a new set of tubes, tubes that do not come with the 

player, and, lo: transmogrification. It now is as it was when Meinwald 

first exhibited it. (Those two new tubes, by the way, are the Tungsram 

6DJ8s.) I would give this my “best buy” vote, except for the fact that it 

is somewhat more expensive than the almost-as-good (but occasionally 

troublesome) Edge player. Truth is, I like the unstressed quality of the 

top octaves here, even though the unit does not have the dynamic fire 

or, quite, the attractive fury of the Edge. I would say, without blushing, 

that the decision between the two would almost rest with the kind of 

unamplified music you like best, power music or dreamily Vaughan 

Williams-like. Oh yes, this unit works (worked) flawlessly, unlike the 

other and more individualistic players. 



The Edge G 

$5000 

edgeamp.com 

I am far from certain whether the next two players should be included in my 

editorial choices. Both are products in transition. Originally, the problem here, 

mechanically, lay with the remote unit, which had, despite the manufacturer’s 

rep’s assertions to the contrary, no repeat-play function. Indeedy, there 

were unmarked buttons for the pushing, which were supposed to enable 

repeat-play, but we had no such luck. So back to the factory it has gone, 

whence it remains as I write these words. I have left it in because its sonics are 

outstanding, and on any given day, I would have ranked it at the top of the 

pile. But, then, with other material, on other systems, its electrifying dynamics 

have bordered on the extreme. Excitement it has. And this “choice” is actually 

conditional. Stay tuned. 

The Blue Note Stibbert Mk II 

$5950 


This unit has undergone three modifications, each to its sonic betterment 

(and it wasn’t at all bad to begin with). And is about to receive another update. 

So, again, a conditional choice, with the benefit of the doubt to Blue Note. 

One thing you must know that I may not have made a point of earlier, and 

that is: The rating applies to the player only if it is used in the balanced mode. 

(And you’d better have it acoustically isolated on some set of points and 

sitting perfectly evenly.) Otherwise, no way will it strut its stuff. 

Multichannel Playback Gear 

The Conrad-Johnson Met One multichannel 

linestage 

$7500 


This is a remarkable linestage, reminiscent of the old tubed Anniversary 

Reference Triode design from Lew Johnson and Co. I haven’t written 

much about it yet, but I have lived with it now for a few months and find it 

supplements the slightly threadbare sound of many contemporary SACD 

issues, such as the Music for Organ, Brass and Tympani, whose sound I knew 

well thanks to an invite from the Sony SACD team to attend the sessions. 

Without the Met One, all of the outlines of the recording were there. But 

when the Met One was inserted into the system, the flesh of the experience 

was added to the bones of the recording. Ditto for the Telarc sampler I did to 

show off the glories of good multichannel SACD sound. More to come. 

The EMM Labs CDSD Signature SACD Deck & 

DAC6 e signature SACD decoder 

$8400 and $13,500 

emmlabs.com 

Incomparable. The reference standard in SACD playback. 

The Super Maggie multichannel system: The 

Magnepan 20.1 (front), the 3.6s (rear), and 

doubled CC3 center channels 

$18,930 

magnepan.com 

Nola Thunderbolt powered subwoofers (four for 

the .1 channel, one for the center channel). 

$8975 

nolaspeakers.com 

There are more than a few approaches to getting the most out of a 

multichannel system. You could, if movie-watching is the main purpose to 

which you’ll put your system, go for the big and impressive-sounding speakers, 

a healthy dose of which we got from the Coincident Technology array, which 

I find to be the only other system (so far) that really made sense for both 

music and sound, with playback of unamplified music being of paramount 

importance to my way of thinking. As I noted earlier, you can melt your 

eardrums at supersonic levels with the Maggies and ultra-DVD sound, but 

for most uses, the Maggies are about as good as you’ll get if you want realism 

musically and all but the biggest bangs from your video spectaculars. 

We will, in the sweet bye and bye, try out other multichannel speaker 

systems in the search for other avenues of approach that demonstrate the 

potential of the experience. 

Vital Accessories 

Room-Correction Tools State Technology Room 

Collimating pillars 

$950 each (three used) 

strltd.com 

I have delayed writing about these plain black columns for many a moon now 

because I have no earthly idea why they do what they do. I think every serious 

audio reviewer has come up against a device that makes an easily audible 

difference in the sound, but one that doesn’t make any apparent technical 

sense. It is said that these pillars contain all sorts of electronic devices that 

help control room resonances, but I am not the sort to cut one open to check 

this out (and well remember the scandal when one Corey Greenberg did 

just that with the so-called “termination” device on a Bruce Brisson cable). I 

also well recall that business with the Tice Clock, which our guy then, Frank 

Doris, could identify in blind tests 21 times out of 21 times when it was either 

“in” or “out” of the system. But why would a digital clock change the entire 

gestalt of a soundfield (In our case, the Tice sweetened and made euphonic 

that which should have been left alone.) And yet, three of these not-imposinglooking 

columns can and do have unmistakable (perceived) effects on the 

sound. When we used these with the large Room 3 Nola Grand Reference, 

we were able to shape the soundstage/soundfield any way we chose. Even 

negatively: once we used the center column and turned it sideways, only to 

find the center fill of the system had just disappeared. Used with the narrow 

side facing the listener, the column focused the center fill. We used and are 

using the outrigger pillars to extend the width of the soundstage. By canting 

them slightly, we can even achieve an almost Cineramic shape to the stage. 

At one point, we heard from Dick Sequerra (of the legendary Marantz 10B 

and Sequerra tuner), whom the manufacturers had commissioned to come 

up with an explanation that would convince the skeptics. Our very own 



John Cooledge, upon hearing their effect, supposed they might simply 

“reflect” the sonic waves in ways that we could, by careful tuning, 

use to our advantage. Nice try, John, methought, but I don’t believe 

it (remember the vanishing center channel). The columns just aren’t 

that big, just over three feet in height, only about six inches across and 

not quite two inches deep. And they are heavy; something’s in there. 

You might think of them, as we came to, as room-“tuning” devices 

that allow you to shape a soundstage and its accompanying field to 

whatever type of space you have in mind, from the warm and intimate 

to the concert hall of your dreams. And so the question for me is, 

finally: Who cares how they work They are like the stuff of dreams, 

but they work in undeniable and concrete ways. 

Cable Apparati 

Nordost 

Valhalla speaker cables ($9130/3m) 

Valhalla component interconnects 1.5m ($4550 unbalanced; $4580 

balanced) 

Valhalla AC cords ($2750/2m) 

Thor AC line distribution system ($3,200) 

nordost.com 

As close to a universal reference as there is in contemporary interconnects. 

But you’ll pay dearly for their truth. Think: A country home down South 

could be had for less than a full Nordost system. Beware: It is ruthlessly 

revealing of inferior components, and it takes hours (50 or more) to break in. 

Ah, the joys of the high end. 

Kubala-Sosna Emotion Series 

Interconnects ($3100/1.5m) 

Speaker cables ($4300/3m) 

AC cords ($1200/2m) 

kubala-sosna.com 

[Review to come.] Here is serious competition for the hallowed Nordost 

cabling and connectors. And it doesn’t imitate the Nordost sound, but 

rather fills in some of Nordost’s crystalline overtones with warmth, 

while maintaining their clarity. The bottom octaves sound nothing like 

the Nordost’s. 

Isolation Devices 

The Stillpoint component stands 

Three-legged, $799; four legged, $1024; extra leg $224 

Risers, threaded, $99 (set of three) $32 (another) 

stillpoint.us 

[Review to come.] Every once in awhile, a product comes along from which 

you expect little, and, bang, to your surprise, the thing radically improves that 

which you didn’t think needed radical improvement. In this case, here in Sea 

Cliff, Stillpoints underneath the amplifiers proved a revelation in opening the 

upper frequencies and letting them breathe the breath of musical life. 

The Halcyonic isolation platforms 

$7990 (Micro 40); $9600 (Micro 60) 

halcyonics.com 

[Review to come.] These devices were originally designed to provide foolproof 

isolation underneath electron microscopes. And they work especially nicely 

under turntables and CD players. 

The Arcici Suspense equipment racks 

$1195 (each; two tested) 

tjbailey.com/arcici/index.htm 

Our Sea Cliff reference in suspended equipment racks. These do not 

supplant the need for additional isolation devices (wooden or metal 

power points, e.g.) because you can never have too much isolation. 

For the heavier duty components, of course, you’ll want to use the 

superb Stillpoints. 



Cleaning/Maintenance 

Devices 

L’Art du Son CD cleaner 

$55 (the bottle) 

themusic.com 

There are, to be sure, several other competing CD cleaners available 

and all are less expensive than this platinum-priced fluid. But in 

comparison with others, this European import can make the ordinary 

compact disc sound much more musical, with better highs and less 

“digititis.” That is, its designers theorize, because the chemicals help 

focus the laser beam more precisely, without the scattering smear 

when the beam hits an ordinary disc. The gain in that right kind of 

sweetness is its most impressive attribute. Now, if it’s spectacularity 

you’re after, the Optrix CD cleaner will do the job, and it’s about 

five times less expensive. You ask: Why do I need this sort of thing 

Because a thorough cleaning (three sprays three times on the music 

side of the disc, once more on the label side to discharge static 

electricity, wipe dry with a soft cloth is the ritual and maddening for 

me) improves the sound. Not sure how long an application lasts; with 

the Optrix, perhaps a dozen or so plays. But you can wash the stuff 

off if you’re in the mood to do some A/B testing of your own with 

the various fluids, as we have. Still, this L’Art du Son is the one to have 

if you must have (and can afford) the best. 

Caig Pro Gold electrical contact cleaner 

$26.95 

caig.com 

As far as I’m concerned, this spray-on contact cleaner is absolutely 

essential if you are to keep your system in top shape. Contacts 

corrode (especially if you live near water), and all sorts of unpleasant 

gunk builds up, interfering with the transmission of an electrical 

signal (i.e., the sound). Periodic cleaning will have as much effect on 

the sound of your system as the substitution of a new stage would. 

Not only is Caig essential, but, over the years, it has proved the best 

and most effective product of its kind. 

HP would like to encourage you to write to him at 

HPsaudiomall@aol.com. 

MANUFACTURER COMMENTS: Simaudio MOON Evolution Series 

There are two subjects in Paul Seydor’s review that we’d 

like to elaborate on. Regarding the remote control’s lack of 

buttons to access specific CD tracks: One of the objectives of 

the FRM-2 remote control is simplicity, to the point where 

someone can operate it in a darkened room. Fewer buttons 

results in easier operation. Besides, most people typically need 

only the “previous” and “next” track buttons. Concerning the 

P-8 preamplifier, the occasional transient Mr. Seydor heard 

upon switching inputs was the result of the unit being a very 

early production unit. There is a software update available for 

this issue. It should be noted that all MOON Evolution series 

models are equipped with an RS-232 port for software updates. 

This port also provides full unsolicited bidirectional feedback 

for integration into a custom install type environment. Other 

commonalites to Evolution series models include 12 Volt triggers 

and IR inputs. Finally, they all have an identical footprint with the 

same width (18.75”) and depth (16.5”). 

Lionel Goodfield 

VP Marketing, Simaudio Ltd. 

A pre-press error in Issue 164 of The Absolute Sound caused most of my comment 

to Sue Kraft’s review of the Meridian 808 CD player to be omitted. Here is the 

entirety of my comment. —Robert Harley 

I’ve had a Meridian 808 in my reference system for about three months and frankly, 

can’t imagine my system without it. For starters the 808 has a wonderfully detailed and 

highly resolved presentation. I was simply floored by the 808’s ability to present fine 

nuances of instrumental timbre, micro-dynamic shadings, and low-level spatial cues. 

No detail, no matter how small, escaped the 808’s scrutiny. Instrumental timbre was 

presented with such a wealth of inner detail that the instrument sounded more lifelike 

and less like a synthetic recreation. In fact, the 808 makes many other digital frontends 

sound coarse by comparison. 

This extremely high resolution is also responsible, I believe, for the 808’s spectacular 

sense of soundstage size, depth, air between images, and its vivid portrayal of the 

surrounding acoustic. The impression of clearly delineated instruments bathed in, but 

distinct from, hall reverberation was the best I’ve heard from digital. Moreover, depth 

was presented along a continuum from the soundstage front to the deepest recesses 

of the soundstage rear rather than along a few discrete steps. Quiet instruments at the 

back of the stage were audible even in the presence of louder instruments. The 808’s 

spatial presentation must be heard to be believed—and this from Red Book CD. 

One might infer from this description that the 808 is analytical and cold, sacrificing 

musicality for resolution. But in what is surely the 808’s greatest triumph, the player 

delivers this vast amount of information to the listener in a totally natural, musical, 

graceful, and involving way. In fact, the 808 had a somewhat laid-back perspective, 

along with a tremendous sense of ease. There was absolutely no hint of the etch, 

forwardness, or hype that one often hears from digital that tries to be “high resolution.” 

Real musical information is presented in the gentle way that one hears in live music, 

not as hi-fi fireworks. The 808’s combination of ease and resolution is unprecedented 

in my experience. The result was an impression of physical relaxation on one hand 

and heightened intellectual and emotional stimulation (by the music) on the other. 

I must also comment on the 808’s extremely smooth, refined, and liquid midrange 

and treble. Timbres were free from grain and glare, and the top end lacked the metallic 

quality often heard from CD. Reproduction of upper-register piano notes is often 

marred by a glassy sheen on leading-edge transients; the 808 exhibited less of this 

phenomenon, allowing higher playback levels and a more involving experience. 

Listening to the 808 and thinking about how it differs from other highly regarded 

digital front ends I’ve heard reminded me of the difference between hearing a 

microphone feed and then the playback of that feed from 1/2" analog tape. I had this 

experience often when I was a working recording engineer. The excitement of getting 

good sound from the microphones was inevitably tempered by the degradation 

imposed by the storage medium, even high-quality analog. The microphone feed had a 

certain life, presence, and realism—the result of its high resolution without exaggerated 

detail—that was lost after storage on tape. The recording process scrubbed off a bit 

of the low-level information and in the process, some of the music’s magic. That’s 

how I feel about the 808 in relation to many other digital sources—many of which 

cost more than the 808. It says much about the Meridian’s combination of ease and 

resolution to invite the prodigious comparison with a microphone feed. 

Many British products, including those from Meridian, could be described as polite 

and reserved, favoring refinement over big dynamics, deep bass extension, and the 

ability to rock. The 808 breaks free from this stereotype with an extremely big, robust, 

and viscerally thrilling sound on rock and large-scale orchestral music. The midbass 

leans toward articulation rather than warmth, but the extreme bottom-end is solid 

and punchy. The 808 also exhibited a remarkable sense of ease during loud, dense 

passages; the music remained coherent rather than degenerating into a collection of 

sounds. 

Finally, the 808 is an outstanding DVD-Audio player. Yes, the 808 plays most 

DVD-A discs, although you’d never know that from Meridian’s literature or even 

from reading the front-panel logos. I tried more than a dozen DVD-A titles and 

every one played. In fact, it was a joy to play DVD-A titles without navigating a menu 

system on a video display. It was with DVD-A discs that truly revealed the extent of 

the 808’s resolving power and musicality. As great as the 808 is on CD, DVD-A discs 

take the machine’s sonic performance to the next level. 


Music 

Classical 

Extraordinary 

Recording 

of the Issue 

Pierre Boulez: Le Domaine musical 1956-1967, 

Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. 

Accord 476 9209 (four CDs) and 476 8862 (four CDs). 

Excellent 

Good 

Fair 

Poor 

Music 

Sonics 

In the early 1950s, Paris’ modern music scene was moribund. The French musical 

establishment, from academics to the powerful broadcast organizations, 

was hostile to the avant-garde, even to the well-established masters of the 

Second Viennese School, Berg, Schoenberg, and Webern. Enter Pierre Boulez, 

still in his late 20s, a young man with strong opinions and boundless energy. 

A student of René Leibowitz and Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatory, 

Boulez had already attracted attention as a composer. He was serving as the 

music director of a progressive Parisian theater company that offered him the 

space to begin a series of concerts presenting challenging, important music. Le 

Domaine musical was born and led by Boulez until 1967, annually presenting 

four to six programs of meticulously prepared contemporary music, both new 

compositions and twentieth-century classics. Now, more than five decades after 

the first event in January 1954, the French company Accord has painstakingly 

gathered a satisfying body of Domaine recordings, many of which originally 

appeared on the Vega and Ades labels and have been long unavailable. 

As a conductor, Boulez didn’t so much interpret music as render it, translating 

the complexities of the printed page into a coherent aural experience. His ear 

and uncompromising standards for exact technical execution are legendary. 

(In the 1970s, members of the New York Philharmonic referred to him, not 

affectionately, as “The French Correction.”) The very first selection of the first 

CD in the first volume of this two-box collection demonstrates well Boulez’s 

extraordinary gifts. The work is Kontra-Punkte by that most “difficult” of 

“difficult” composers, Karlheinz Stockhausen. In Boulez’s hands, the piece has 

the crystalline purity and logic of a Haydn symphony: every gesture is carefully 

considered in terms of the whole. The performance is absorbing, engaging 

the mind but also—almost insidiously— establishing an emotional hold on the 

listener. 

And so it goes for nearly nine hours. The project is superbly organized to 

illuminate Boulez’s artistic vision. Volume 1 begins with the Domaine musical’s 

Tenth Anniversary Concert, following the Stockhausen work with pieces by 

Luciano Berio, Messiaen, and Boulez. Disc 2 is titled “The French References” 

and includes forward-looking material by Debussy, Varèse, and more Messiaen. 

Disc 3 is devoted completely to Boulez’s own compositions, including the 

Second Piano Sonata, an early masterpiece. Disc 4 offers music by some of 

Boulez’s like-minded contemporaries (“The Fellow Travelers”)—Maurizio 

Kagel, Luigi Nono, Hans Werner Henze, Henri Pousseur, and Stockhausen 

again. 

Volume 2 is devoted completely to Stravinsky and the three leaders of the 

Second Viennese School. Boulez was known for being selective when it came 

to which pieces of a given composer he’d champion. He obviously played lots 

of Messiaen but wouldn’t touch the hothouse atmospherics of Turangalîla. 

Likewise, the Stravinsky played here isn’t the comfortable neoclassicism of 

Pulcinella but material that gets a lot less attention, works like Renard and 

Agon, as well as a stunningly beautiful reading of Symphonies of wind 

instruments. The last three CDs are all Berg, Schoenberg, and Webern—every 

selection a performance that you won’t find significantly bettered anywhere. 

Remarkably, the level of playing is as high for chamber groups as when Boulez 

(always without a baton!) was on the podium. He had communicated his 

crusading spirit to the carefully chosen Domaine musicians. 

The audio quality ranges from adequate to excellent, mostly quite good. 

Solo piano and small ensembles fare best, with an immediacy and clarity that 

these performances deserve. Most of the material is stereo; all of it, of course, 

is of analog origin. Liner notes are informative, and Volume 1 has a bonus disc 

holding both a 49-minute interview with Boulez conducted in 2005 (in French, 

but a complete English translation is included in a separate booklet) and the 

first recording, from 1956, of Boulez’s Le Marteau sans maître. 

Pierre Boulez, of course, would go on to develop an international 

conducting career; the catalog now holds his versions of Wagner operas and 

Mahler symphonies alongside this tougher repertoire. But Boulez’s advocacy 

for the most uncompromising stripe of twentieth-century music is his greatest 

legacy. These sets, then, are essential to any collection that purports to be a 

broadminded survey of the classical canon. 

Andrew Quint 

Further Listening: Ravel: The Orchestral Works (Boulez); Zappa: The Perfect Stranger (Boulez) 


Music 

Classical 

Music 

Sonics 

Haydn: Orlando 

Paladino. 

Soloists, Concentus Musicus Wien, 

Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor. 

Friedemann Engelbrecht, producer; 

Michael Brammann, engineer. 

Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 73370. 

Haydn labeled Orlando Paladino a “heroic-comic” 

opera, but there’s little heroic about the flawed 

characters drawn from Ariosto’s classic epic, Orlando 

Furioso, similarly mined by many composers before 

and after Haydn. As for an outline of the complex 

plot It’s about a pair of lovers fleeing the wrath of 

a spurned suitor with attendant complications that 

include a blustering intruder, a boastful servant, 

and a sorceress whose spells and potions bring 

all concerned to their senses. With its abundance 

of archetypical situations and characters, Orlando 

Paladino is a marvelous vehicle for Haydn’s parody 

of human folly, complete with the sarcastic moral 

of its closing lines—“If you want to be happy, 

then love the ones who love you.” 

Full of excellences, this recording is as close 

to definitive as it gets. Harnoncourt leads a crisp 

performance, full of sharp accents that help 

highlight the drama and emotions, along with 

neat humorous touches like the cymbal crash and 

drum thwacks announcing various arrivals of the 

sorceress Alcina. The vocals are nothing short of 

ideal. Soprano Patricia Petibon is a sterling Angelica, 

bringing out the character’s self-deceptions, singing 

her poignant moments with beauty, and tackling 

the coloratura with fearless virtuosity. Her wimpy 

lover, Medoro, is done to a turn by the mellifluous 

tenor of Werner Güra, and another major lieder 

singer, baritone Christian Gerhaher, is wonderful 

as the crazed warrior Rodomonte. Even crazier 

is the eponymous Orlando, whose angermanagement 

challenges spark the plot. He’s sung 


by Michael Schade, someone I usually avoid but 

whose well-rounded tenor and characterization are 

virtually flawless here. Supporting roles are done 

superbly; Elizabeth von Magnus is a fine Alcina 

and tenor Markus Schäfer is terrific in Pasquale’s 

show-stopping comic aria. 

The engineering contributes to the sense 

of occasion, capturing this 2005 concert 

performance with a bright liveliness. Balances are 

fine; the orchestra full of detailed presence, the big 

ensembles captured with accuracy, and dynamics 

well-scaled in a solid soundstage. Dan Davis 

Further Listening: Haydn: Paris 

Symphonies (Harnoncourt); Haydn: 

The Creation 

Walton: Symphony 

No. 1. 

London Symphony Orchestra, Sir 

Colin Davis, conductor. 

James Mallinson, producer; Neil 

Hutchinson, engineer. LSO Live 0576. 

I’ve been waiting 25 years for this disc to appear, 

and am relieved that a compelling interpretation 

of a great 20th-century symphony has finally been 

enshrined. Here’s the story. 

In the summer of 1981, I heard then recently 

knighted Sir Colin Davis perform this score with 

the Cleveland Orchestra at its summer home, the 

Blossom Festival. To put it politely, they blew the 

roof off. I was able to sit in on a rehearsal as well as 

the performance; I remember the glorious playing 

of the brass, and how Sir Colin worked with the 

second violins and violas to make sure they nailed 

their treacherously exposed entrance in the fourth 

movement’s fugue, with the violas entirely in the 

treble clef. From start to finish, Davis’ account of the 

symphony, serious and purposeful, showed what a 

rich, tightly written work it is. After the performance, 

as I went backstage to greet the maestro, I heard a 

member of the violin section, as he packed his 

instrument into its case, exclaim “That’s the guy I 

want!,” saying it loudly enough to be heard in the 

conductor’s dressing room. The orchestra was 

then looking for a music director to succeed Lorin 

Maazel, who after ten years was headed to Vienna. 

So I asked Davis what he would do if offered the 

job. Lowering his voice to a near-whisper, he said, 

“I just can’t.” He wanted his kids to grow up in 

Europe. 

And that was that. Often over the years I’ve wished 

I could retrieve that evening, wondering if Davis 

would ever get the opportunity, or feel the urge, to 

record the work. Apparently, he did, and he did. While 

it’s a fine band, the London Symphony of 2005 is not 

the Cleveland Orchestra of 1981, and the frisson 

of excitement that ran through the Clevelanders 

that night is missing from this new account. But the 

London players know the work and the style, and 

deliver handsomely—conveying the score’s turbulent 

heavings and pained dissonances with panache, 

getting the haunting mix of desolation, melancholy, 

and anxiety just right. It’s not easy to make the 

exuberance of the finale come off in performance, 

but they do that, too. One of the reliable characteristics 

of Sir Colin’s work is his feeling for tempo, and here 

he unerringly lands the right ones, giving shape and 

purpose to the work’s climactic pages. 

The recording, made at the Barbican, is typically 

tight and dry. While there is no bloom from the 

hall—nothing to support the bass or provide 

aural cues for a natural sense of the soundstage— 

there is plenty of detail to be savored. We get a 

podium view of the proceedings, complete with 

exertions and exhortations from the maestro, who 

evidently worked himself into a lather during the 

performances. He sounds like the same guy who 

took our breath away a quarter century ago in 

Cleveland. Ted Libbey 

Further Listening: Walton: Partita 

(Szell/Cleveland); Elgar: Symphonies 

(Davis/LSO) 

World Keys. 

Joel Fan, piano. J. 

Tamblyn Henderson, Jr., producer; 

Keith O. Johnson, engineer. Reference 

Recordings 106. 

At first glance, this CD’s program seems 

impossibly eclectic: ten works by ten composers 

of ten different nationalities. The music ranges 

from straight-down-the-middle European 

repertoire (Schumann’s Sonata No. 2, Prokofiev’s 

Third Sonata, and the Liszt Rigoletto Paraphrase) to 

high-profile contemporary composers (Australian 

Peter Sculthorpe, American William Bolcolm, and

Music 

Classical 

Music 

Sonics 

Latvian Peteris Vasks) to piano pieces from the 

Middle and Far East that will surely be unfamiliar to 

most. Joel Fan, a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road 

Ensemble, plays it all authoritatively with sensitivity 

to the unique flavor of each work. He leaves the 

listener hankering for more of everything. 

It’s those unfamiliar composers that make 

this recital especially intriguing. The musically 

xenophobic need not panic: These selections 

are “Western” in structure and use their ethnospecific 

material in a way that’s fully integrated with 

the composer’s style—as Bartók and Kodály did 

with Hungarian folk materials. A highlight is the 

Chinese composer Qigang Chen’s Instants d’un opéra 

de Pékin. Chen was Olivier Messiaen’s last student, 

and the older composer’s influence is easily heard. 

But Chen also evokes the sounds of traditional 

Chinese instruments—the sheng, pipa, drums, 

and cymbals—as he imaginatively develops two 

pentatonic motives. Likewise, La Nuit du Destin by 

Syrian Dia Succari utilizes a rich neoimpressionist 

harmonic palette and seamlessly integrates sections 

of improvisation in the Persian style known as 

taksim, where the keyboard suggests the sound 

of the ud and santour. Shorter pieces by A. Adnan 

Saygun (Turkey) and Halim El-Dabh (Egypt) are 

also satisfying discoveries. 

The piano sound is superb, very similar to that 

rendered by Keith Johnson 19 years ago on an early 

digital audiophile classic, Nojima Plays Liszt. There’s 

excellent percussive attack without claustrophobia 

and a wonderful sense of the body of the 

instrument; the warm acoustic of the Bayside 

Performing Arts Center in San Mateo supports 

the natural resonance of Fan’s Steinway. All of 

the pianist’s carefully judged dynamic shadings get 

through. If it matters to anyone at this point, the 

disc is HDCD encoded. AQ 

Further Listening: Nojima Plays Liszt; 

Kaleidoscope (Marc-André Hamelin) 

SACD 

Stravinsky: Les Noces; 

Mass; Cantata. 

Soloists, RIAS Kammerchor, 

musikFabrik, Daniel Reuss, 

conductor. Florian B. Schmidt, 

producer; Thomas Monnerjahn, 

engineer. Hybrid multichannel. 

Harmonia Mundi 801913. 

Stravinsky’s 1921 Les Noces celebrates the composer’s Russian roots, depicting a peasant wedding 

celebration with a visceral drive that makes his Le Sacre du Printemps seem rhythmically timid. Text 

and music rush by, but remaining in a listener’s nerve-endings is the foot stomping beat and catchy 

fragments of Russian popular melodies. If you’re curious about where Orff’s Carmina Burana comes 

from, look no further. Here, this revolutionary work gets a riveting, boldly colored, and dynamic 

performance from one of Europe’s best choirs under a conductor who captures its elusive idiom. 

The other works are shamefully neglected masterpieces. The Mass’ asceticism doesn’t go out of 

its way to please. Written in 1948, it hearkens back to earlier musical traditions including Gregorian 

chant. Stravinsky’s sincere religiosity and effective scoring for small wind band shine through. Reuss’ 

chorus and instrumentalists infuse the work with enough warmth to take some of its chill away, while 

adhering to Stravinsky’s intentions. 

Although also austere, the relative rarity of the 1952 Cantata is less explicable. After composing The 

Rake’s Progress, Stravinsky’s imagination was sparked by anonymous 15th and 16th century English 

texts whose imagery and archaic language inspired him. The result is a piece whose severity is reflected 

in its Webern-like disciplined concentration and the spare chamber atmosphere of five instruments and 

small chorus. That shouldn’t compromise its appeal, for it has memorable if sometimes-quirky melodies. 

Sections of the text are so striking in Stravinsky’s musical setting that they leap out at the listener. For 

me, no performance can ever approach the composer’s own mono recording with Jennie Tourel and 

Hugues Cuenod as soloists, but this is an accomplished reading very much worth knowing. 

Les Noces and the Mass are captured with blazing immediacy on both the CD and the stereo SACD 

layers, sporting crisply vivid percussion transients in the former work and timbral accuracy and wellscaled 

dynamics in both. But in the Cantata, balances favor the winds, often obscuring the chorus and 

solo singers and compromising the intelligibility of the text. The multichannel presentation for Les 

Noces isn’t objectionable, but it bears no relationship to the session photo in the booklet which shows 

soloists in front, pianos and percussion in the middle, and chorus behind. The surround version has 

some percussion and piano in the rear speakers. The mix for the Mass immerses the listener in the rich 

wind accompaniment. DD 

Further Listening: Stravinsky: The Rake’s Progress; Stravinsky: Symphony of 

Psalms 

TAS Bookshelf 

The NPR Listener’s Encyclopedia 

of Classical Music. 

Ted Libbey, author. Workman. 2005. 

979 pages. 

If you think sackbut is something that happens when you lose your 

job, or that Agnus Dei is a clothing designer, TAS contributor Ted 

Libbey’s outstanding new Encyclopedia of Classical Music will help set 

you straight. Although Libbey (who also penned The NPR Guide to 

Building a Classical CD Collection, does musical commentary for NPR, 

and who is Director of Media Arts at the NEA) spent a decade on this 

nearly thousand-page book, his writing style is anything but labored. 

Handsomely illustrated with drawings, photographs, and album covers, 

Libbey’s encyclopedia is chock-full of information on more than 1500 composers, performers, instruments, musical terms, 

and recommended recordings, covering the early classical period to the present. The book features a unique, fun, and 

incredibly useful twist—an interactive online “bonus” (created by Naxos specifically for the book) that allows you to 

sample 527 musical selections, from complete works (like Pictures at an Exhibition) to symphonic movements to a short 

illustration of a fugue or saxophone solo. Say you’re reading about the recently deceased Hungarian composer György 

Ligeti but don’t know his work. Log on to www.naxos.com/workman/, register using a code in the book, and you can 

sample bits of Ligeti or whatever else grabs your curiosity via a clean and easy to navigate page. It’s hard to imagine a book on the classical arts being 

more fun as well as informative. By the way, a sackbut is a “Renaissance brass instrument, forerunner of the modern trombone,” and Agnus Dei is Latin 

for “Lamb of God,” the “Final section of the Ordinary of the Mass.” Wayne Garcia 


Mercury Living Presence: Russian Recordings. 

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3; Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto 

No. 1; Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2; Byron Janis: Encore; 

Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 4 and 8; Balalaika Favorites. Byron Janis, 

pianist; Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kyril Kondrashin, conductor; Moscow 

Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, conductor; Borodin 

String Quartet; Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra. Wilma Cozart and Harold 

Lawrence, producers; Robert Fine and Robert Ebernez, engineers. Mercury/ 

Speakers Corner AMER 2 (180-gram five-LP boxset). 

In June of 1962—less than a year after the Berlin Crisis and a mere fourth months before the Cuban 

Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink yet again—the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet 

Union thawed just enough to permit Fine Recording Inc. and the Mercury Record Corporation to send 

a team of executives, producers, and engineers to Moscow, where they recorded American pianist Byron 

Janis, accompanied by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, 

in four showpiece concertos—the Prokofiev Third, the Rachmaninoff First, and the Liszt First and Second. 

In addition, the Fine/Mercury team recorded Janis playing various works for piano solo, the Osipov State 

Russian Folk Orchestra performing delightful music for balalaika orchestra, and the Borodin Quartet playing 

the Shostakovich Fourth and Eighth string quartets (the latter often considered the composer’s best). 

Vladimir Horowitz’s brilliant protégé Byron Janis had previously toured the Soviet Union to enormous 

acclaim in 1960. (He was, in fact, the first American artist invited to the Soviet Union in what became an 

ongoing “cultural exchange” program between the two nations.) He had been invited back in 1962 to 

give a solo concert timed to coincide with the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. The Mercury 

team, which had been negotiating with Soviet authorities for several years to become the first American 

record company to tape in Moscow, used the occasion to seal the deal. 

Fine Recording’s mobile recording truck—a maroon van equipped with Westrex RA 1324 mixers and 

Ampex 300 tape recorders fitted out to accommodate 35mm magnetic tape—was transported by ship 

and rail to Moscow, then driven to the Tchaikovsky Conservatory and parked outside. All recordings 

were made in the Bolshoi Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, with the mike feeds being transmitted 

by cable to the 35mm tape machines in the van. 

As usual, recording engineer Robert Fine used only three microphones—Schoeps/Telefunken 201s. 

However, he was not permitted to hang them from the ceiling of the hall or from a line running from the 

stage to the balcony rail, as he customarily did. (Hanging mikes from the ceiling or on a wire stretched 

high above the orchestra, where they could be adjusted up and down and forward and back via ropes 

and pulleys, allowed Fine tremendous latitude in selecting just the right positions.) In the Bolshoi Hall 

the mikes were set on booms, which may account for the slightly hotter, boomier balances of some of 

the Russian discs. 

I’m not sure I need to say much about the music and performance on these famous LPs, now gathered 

into a five-disc box set by Speakers Corner. Janis’ Prokofiev Third would make virtually everyone’s 

top two or three list of great Prokofiev Thirds, and his performances in the Rachmaninoff and Liszt 

concertos wouldn’t be far behind. At this point in his career, the thirty-three-year-old was one of the 

best pianists in the world, combining Horowitz-like chops with tremendous 

native musicality, unflagging energy, and a seemingly limitless repertory. 

The colorful and plangent Balalaika Favorites has long been a resident on 

HP’s SuperDisc List—often in the Baker’s Dozen. And while the Borodin 

Quartet’s fiery Shostakovich Eighth (in fiery Mercury sound) may have 

since been more thoughtfully performed, these are still intensely powerful 

renditions of truly great chamber works. 

The sound that Speakers Corner has wrought here, from forty-fouryear-old 

mastertapes, is quite wonderful for the most part—and, allowing 

for very slight differences in balance, quite authentically “Mercury.” Janis’ 

piano is simply brilliant in the concerto recordings, with natural sparkle in 

the top octaves and realistic body and weight in the midrange and bass. 

The Russian orchestras’ strings are a little brightly tipped but still gorgeous. 

Winds and brass are especially lifelike. And the bass…well, it varies from 

very good to not-so, just as it did on the original Mercs. Every once and again 

(say in the first movement of the Prokofiev), it sounds as if the outside mike 

facing the right side of the stage (the cellos and doublebasses) overloaded 

on fortissimos; in any event, you hear an occasional bit of midbass tubbiness 

and, as noted, a bit of fire on the first violin in the Shostakovich recording. 

So what 

In my opinion the world would be a poorer place without these historic 

LPs. Speakers Corner is to be commended for reissuing them and making 

Mercury’s already exalted place in the recording pantheon just that much 

more secure. Highly recommended! 

Jonathan Valin 

Music 

Classical 

HOT 

WAX 

From Russia 

with Love 


Music 

Rock etc. 

Califone: Roots 

& Crowns. 

Brian Deck, producer. Thrill Jockey 

163. 

No strangers to the concept of change, Califone 

specialize in transforming roots-based musical 

forms into supernatural experiences. Most 

recently, on 2004’s brilliant King Heron Blues, leader 

Tim Rutili laid bare his life-long fear of birds, 

meeting it head-on within the spooky record’s 

canvas, drawing inspiration from nightmares, and 

parlaying the terror into haunting soundscapes. 

The daring work netted Califone its widest 

audience yet, attracting national exposure and 

confirming its status as a can’t-miss live act. 

After extensive touring, members retired 

to their own projects, taking their first break 

since the Chicago group emerged from the 

ashes of underappreciated Red Red Meat in 

the late 90s. Rutili relocated to Los Angeles 

and scored films. Multi-instrumentalist Jim 

Becker gigged with Australian dynamos Dirty 

Three and also dabbled in soundtrack work, a 

field that’s a growing part of Califone’s identity. 

(Instrumental accompaniments to silent movies, 

the band’s self-released Deceleration volumes are 

experimental thrills; future installments will 

focus on Lon Chaney’s He Who Gets Slapped and 

Charlie Chaplin’s A Night Out.) Yet film scoring 

isn’t the only significant influence on Roots & 

Crowns. The not-so-small matter of the theft 

of the group’s irreplaceable collection of oddsand-ends 

instruments, many homemade and 

specially altered, forced Califone to rethink and 

readjust its approach. 

The foursome’s fourth studio record 

reflects these shifts and experiences, the music 

and lyrics reacting to a cycle of darkness 

by breaking free and seeing light while 

simultaneously refusing to forget where it all 

came from. These dual themes of acceptance 

and moving on even play out in the album’s 

title, inspired by Robertson Davies’ novel The 

Rebel Angels, where roots signify the past and 

crowns symbolize the present and future. 

Accordingly, the band’s latest works suggest a 

less-congested atmospheric wherein modern 

ambience works jointly with rattling, rustic 

textures. Glistening with mellow tint, harmonic 

dirt, and spiritual purpose, Roots & Crowns has 

the senses-clearing feel of a burning pile of 

leaves, the enchanting scope of the Aurora 

Borealis sparkling against a night sky. Drawing 

on a cavalcade of tools—organ, vibraphone, 

xylophone, Cajun accordion, mandolin, bronze 

fork, shakers, chimes, banjo, bowed balalaika, 

bells, and melodica among a pawn-shop lot— 

Califone keeps songs relatively quiet, delicate, 

and acoustic, fleshing out inner dimensions 

in which loops, samples, and prerecorded 

percussion form rhythmically springing beds 

against which Rutili’s abstract prose ripples. 

Califone remains unique in its filtering of 

bluesy languages through art-rock prisms, 

stone-rubbed folk foundations, and swampy 

tonal pools. The band’s trademark creaks, 

crumples, wheezes, whistles, skronks, and 

door-raps are all here. But so are rum-soaked 

horns on “Spiders House,” a track built off 

a “prepared” piano with duct tape and paper 

clips clinging to its strings; heartbreaking violin 

passages on the in-the-sticks “Burned by the 

Christians”; and African motifs on the legkicking 

“A Chinese Actor,” which feeds off 

a vibrant metal resonator. “Shake the glass 

out of your hair,” encourages Rutili on the 

freshly awoken “3Legged Animals,” melodies 

emerging from a frozen state. And as if ready 

to dance, and in line with the majority of Roots 

& Crowns, the tune emanates with sounds akin 

to that of a rickety skeleton’s bones responding 

to a second chance at life. 

Via manipulated collages, cut-and-pasted 

recordings, and scenic interplay, producer 

Brian Deck sculpts a surprisingly deep and 

consistent soundstage that, while by no 

means natural, is loaded with depth, tone, and 

magnetism. There’s less haze than on prior 

Califone releases, yet it retains a backwoods 

vibe that corresponds to songs that have one 

foot in the 19th century and the other in a 

netherworld. Bob Gendron 

Further Listening: Red Red Meat: 

Jimmywine Majestic; Califone: 

Roomsound 

Music 

Sonics 

Extraordinary Excellent Good Fair Poor 


Music 

Rock etc. 

Music 

Sonics 

Ali Farka Touré: 

Savane. 

Nick Gold, producer. World Circuit/ 

Nonesuch 79965. 

Ali Farka Touré probably knew the end of his 

life was near as he recorded Savane. He had been 

battling bone cancer for some time before he 

went into the studio for what turned out to be 

his swan song. Moreover, despite his Muslim 

faith, Touré’s culture recognized the presence 

of spirits who communicate with the “children 

of the river”—an appellation appropriate to 

the world-famous guitarist, who grew up (and 

returned to serve as mayor) in Niafunke, a Niger 

River town in Mali’s Timbuktu region. 

But if the two-time Grammy winner was 

aware that his death (on March 7) was imminent, 

it didn’t dampen his palpable enthusiasm for 

the music-making he chose as a career. One of 

three CDs in the Hotel Mandé series, Savane is 

one of Touré’s rootsiest and complex recordings. 

Backup singers, percussionists (including calabash 

and conga players), and virtuosos of the ngoni 

(four-string lute) provide basic accompaniment. 

And with Touré using the idiosyncratic plucking 

style on both acoustic and electric guitars that 

he developed to emulate his region’s indigenous 

single-string djerkel (which brought frequent 

comparisons to John Lee Hooker’s minimalist 

boogie), and delivering his vocals in rough-hewn 

but eloquent chants, the ensemble raises musical 

drones to a level of high art. 

Intermittent appearances by soul tenor-sax 

veteran Pee Wee Ellis and Greek-born U.K. 

harmonica shaman Little George Sueref highlight 

fundamental rhythm-and-blues commonalities, 

while ngoni wizards Mama Sissoko and 

Bassekou Kouyate and njarka (single-string 

violin) player Fanga Diawara draw the sound 


back to the stark West African desert. In the 

middle of a broad soundscape, Touré’s brittle 

picking and wise growl command center stage. 

The cinematic mix captures the strings’ bright 

edges and muted twangs, the warm richness and 

rasp of Touré’s voice, the dry metallic rattle of 

calabash resonators, and the low thump of the 

hand drums. Fittingly, the occasionally shadowy 

but finely detailed sonics reveal this subtly dramatic 

music’s nuances—right down to Touré’s 

knowing “hmmm” that precedes his closing 

guitar riff on the album-closing “N’jarou.” 

Derk Richardson 

Further Listening: Ali Farka Touré: Ali 

Farka Touré; Ali Farka Touré with Ry 

Cooder: Talking Timbuktu 

The Black Keys: 

Magic Potion. 

The Black Keys, producers. Nonesuch 

79967. 

At first glance, the cover—a hand-drawn 

reproduction of a Faberge egg—of the 

Black Keys’ fourth record seems like an odd 

companion to the band’s pachyderm stomp. But 

listening to Magic Potion, its meaning becomes 

abundantly clear: this fragile effort is the Akron, 

Ohio duo’s breakup record. The specter of lost 

love hangs over virtually every track, frontman/ 

guitarist Dan Auerbach singing, “When a heart 

gets broke this many times its easy to lose track”; 

“I’m the only man who got the will...to give my 

heart away”; “Desperation...suffocation.” 

It’s a fitting direction for the Keys. The duo 

has always sounded old before its time, and 

the heartbroken, lived-in feel of these songs 

is a natural fit for its swampy, hypnotic blues. 

Like his idol Junior Kimbrough, Auerbach 

has an unmistakable guitar tone, whether he’s 

stretching out on the Delta breeze of “You’re 

the One” or unleashing foundation-rattling 

blasts of six-string on “Modern Times.” Patrick 

Carney, who once played Kanye West-worthy 

breakbeats on his minimalist kit, has evolved into 

a more nuanced drummer, swinging into “Your 

Touch” with the force of John Henry driving 

steel and reining it in for album centerpiece 

“The Flame.” The song, a cathartic account of 

love’s final throes, builds on Auerbach’s lowkey 

vocals and moody guitar, notes raining as 

steadily as teardrops. 

Though the album lacks a tune like the duo’s 

own “10 A.M. Automatic” or “Set You Free”— 

undeniable tracks that should have launched the 

Keys into the mainstream conscious—in many 

ways Potion is the band’s most consistent effort. 

The record is beautifully sequenced and falls flat 

only on “Just Got To Be” which, aside from its 

feedback-driven intro, sounds like a holdover 

from Thickfreakness. 

While the Black Keys will never be audiophile 

darlings (on its debut the duo boasted of 

recording in medium-fidelity, a method that 

employed “equal parts broke-ass shit to equal 

parts hot-ass shit”), Potion is the band’s sharpest 

sounding album. Auerbach’s guitar wisely 

dominates the mix, though there are times 

where the drums are lost behind spectral waves 

of feedback. Andy Downing 

Further Listening: Junior Kimbrough: 

All Night Long; The Stooges: The 

Stooges 

M. Ward: Post-War. 

Mike Mogis, producer. 

Merge 280. 

Matt Ward creates records that draw listeners 

into intimate worlds. They often begin with 

brief, almost misty instrumentals that consist 

of nothing more than Ward finger-picking his 

acoustic guitar along with some scratchy, barely 

audible noise. He’s hesitant to sing, and seems 

to stretch out the inevitable moment when he’ll 

have to open his mouth to allow his unique, 

honey-coated sandpaper of a voice to be heard. 

Even then, his vocalizing is so quiet that it forces 

listeners to lean forward, as if pulling them into 

the songs. 

Post-War signals something of a departure. 

Recorded in Ward’s Portland attic, this record, 

like its three predecessors, creates its own slightly 

off-kilter continuum. But here the reluctant 

singer of the past seems to have finally come to 

peace with his unusually beautiful instrument. 

The first thing we hear is Ward’s voice on 

“Poison Cup,” a song of bittersweet love (a

Music 

Rock etc. 

Music 

Sonics 

theme of this collection). He’s still tentative, 

repeatedly asking “why, why, why” between 

strummed chords before the song officially 

takes shape as a mellow, rollicking rocker that 

gains much of its personality from the pair of 

drummers Ward recruited for these sessions. 

(Neko Case and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James 

are also present.) Much of Post-War is like this, 

more rock than folk, with lots of drums. And 

the presence of two percussionists adds a loose, 

almost disorienting, and totally captivating 

feeling that arcs across all 12 tracks. 

The sound is kinda funky, and deliberately 

so. Rather than go for a natural sound—though 

he does just that on the mini-suite that occupies 

the disc’s middle section—Ward and producer 

Mike Mogis have crafted the sound to suit each 

song’s mood. Ward’s voice is often masked in 

a fuzzy reverb. Noise and manipulation tweak 

the sound of guitars, pianos and strings. And 

it works. 

Clocking in at a brisk 38 minutes, Post-War is 

so packed with musical ideas that it never comes 

across as slight or rushed. It just gets richer with 

each listen. Wayne Garcia 

Further Listening: Various: Anthology 

of American Folk Music; M. Ward: End 

of Amnesia 

The Mountain Goats: 

Get Lonely. 

Scott Solter, producer. 4AD 2614. 

Last year, John Darnielle laid bare the trauma of his 

childhood on the Mountain Goats’ biographical 

The Sunset Tree. Then he exhaled. Get Lonely is 

that breath, a stark-naked album of ironic truths, 

resigned perspectives, and fragile reflections. 


While not intended as a concept album or 

chronological story, Get Lonely unfolds like a 

narrative, particularly since Darnielle’s elegant 

songwriting champions expressive metaphor 

and photographic detail. Approaching lyrics 

with a novelist’s eye for pace, mood, and 

structure, the guitarist/vocalist uses creative 

language to bestow simple actions with 

great power and ingrained meaning. Each 

tune witnesses a protagonist consumed 

by isolation, his break-off with a partner 

symbolically confining him to a house that 

serves as a prison. He makes plans to get out 

and socialize, but his trapped condition sends 

him straight back home. He’s conscious of 

his surroundings, nature, cold weather, and 

physical landmarks reminding of him of his 

former relationship. He’s so broken, he isn’t 

even angry—a brilliant stroke that keeps 

him away from fury, liquor, and excuses, 

never allowing opportunity for escape. 

Rather, he spends time in the company of 

ghosts and memories, and scared of the 

future. It all works because Darnielle avoids 

melodramatic fluff, the emotions pure and 

paranoia genuine. 

Musically, muted percussion, slight 

acoustic guitars, prudent piano notes, and 

occasional chamber strings connect to 

the situations, the subtle arrangements 

alternating between a strolling calm and 

phantom quiet. Shuddering cello lines and 

low bass notes shade and color, and while 

such swells normally uplift, here, they 

only add to the melancholy. On “Half 

Dead,” vibes ring like mental alarm bells, 

the cozy track effortlessly drifting by like 

overhead clouds. Echoing with midnightjazz 

solitude and icicle-shatter vulnerability, 

“Song for Lonely Giants” has the singer on 

the verge of collapse. Darnielle is similarly 

exasperated on the quaint “Woke Up New,” 

where the process of making coffee for one 

underscores the circumstances of waking up 

alone. Speaking of the latter, everything hits 

rock bottom on “Moon Over Goldsboro,” 

where, muttering under his breath, Darnielle 

hears a siren and wishes it was a signal that 

someone was taking him away. He doesn’t 

say where, but the implication is clear. 

Recorded live in the studio, the production 

preserves the album’s intimacy and tension. 

Darnielle’s tender voice is close-up but 

not artificially magnified, while the hushed 

instrumentation is frosted with proper decay. 

Some audiophiles might prefer a darker 

background, but such a step may have compromised 

the ambience on an effort that exudes 

literary poignancy and genius that place 

its author among indie-rock’s songwriting 

elite. BG 

Further Listening: The Mountain 

Goats: The Sunset Tree; Nick Cave: The 

Boatman’s Call 

The Hidden Cameras: 

Awoo. 

Joel Gibb, producer. Arts & Crafts 19. 

The Hidden Cameras are best-known for 

pairing symphonic indie pop with oftentimes 

graphic, homoerotic imagery; past songs have 

dealt with erections, enemas, and urine. These 

Red State-baiting lyrics often overshadowed the 

group’s ear for grandiose melody, the collective 

of 20-odd musicians creating infectious walls 

of sound from the likes of glockenspiel, 

vibraphone, violin, and cello. 

With its fourth album, singer/songwriter/ 

guitarist Joel Gibb and company are lyrically 

tamer, but maintain the same musical blueprint 

of fellow Canadians the Arcade Fire and Broken 

Social Scene, all cinematic strings, plucky guitar 

rhythms, and parading drums. “She’s Gone,” 

however, introduces some new wrinkles, closing 

with a flurry of mouth harp and Hitchcockian 

strings like a rodeo gone Broadway. The lyrics 

aren’t as recognizably provocative, but they’re 

still loaded with double entendres and coded 

meanings. It doesn’t take a linguist to realize 

that when Gibb sings, “Lying naked on the 

throne I’ll be working in the bone yard” he’s 

trading in sexual innuendo. But this newfound 

restraint keeps the focus on the band’s sweeping 

harmonies. “Follow These Eyes” sounds like 

the musical accompaniment to an elaborate 

theater production, guitars stalking the lip of 

the stage as a cadre of instruments cameo in 

the dense tapestry. “Wandering” floats in like a 

cool breeze in the August heat, Gibb delivering 

his vocals like a drifter floored by the pangs 

of intense loneliness. “Death of a Tune” is as 

relentless as a death march, galloping guitars 

driving the tune with such verve that it sounds 

as if it might spin out of control at any instant. 

The production is fairly impressive, though at 

times, it’s a bit heavy-handed. This is especially 

true on the title track, which, like over-polished 

brass, lacks a certain degree of character. The 

soundstage is ample, but the low end is underrepresented 

as the band sculpts chiming, alto 

melodies that flutter about like chipper bluebirds 

in a Disney cartoon. AD 

Further Listening: Xiu Xiu: Fabulous 

Muscles; Arcade Fire: Funeral

Music 

Rock etc. 

Music 

Sonics 

Psalm One: 

The Death Of 

Frequent Flyer. 

Overflo, Thaione Davis, et. al, 

producers. Rhymesayers 76. 

It’s a sad reality that women in hip-hop have 

been largely relegated to music-video props and 

targets of scorn by out-of-favor lovers, as well 

as objects of affection and attention from men 

who tend to value providing money-oriented 

items more than offering unconditional love. 

Within this caustic environment, it should be no 

surprise that the biggest female rappers of the 

last decade have been fixated on being satisfied 

sexually and materialistically. (See the work of 

Lil Kim and Foxy Brown, for starters.) 

Nonetheless, there is a stable of female 

rappers who focus on lyrical agility and crafting 

captivating stories. Among this slowly emerging 

contingent is Psalm One, a gifted Chicago-based 

emcee whose entertaining The Death Of Frequent 

Flyer album solidifies her status as one of the 

underground’s most talented rappers. A Windy 

City veteran who has released two albums, a 

handful of EPs, and worked extensively with 

the likeminded group Nacrobats, Psalm One 

poignantly addresses the place of women in 

rap on the biting “Rapper Girls.” Over a slow, 

soulful beat accented by a lush bass line and 

elegant horns, the Southside rapper bemoans 

how women use their bodies to earn leverage 

in the music and business sides of the industry. 

It’s one of the strongest moments on this evenkeeled 

collection, a strong commentary about 

hip-hop culture from someone professionally 

navigating its dark underbelly. 

“The Nine,” her dreary recollection of the 

danger of using public transportation, and 

“Macaroni and Cheese,” a funky treatise where 


she equates her rap skills to the food, display the 

husky-voiced rapper’s ability to craft vivid stories 

one on song and highlight her entertaining 

wordplay and braggadocio rhymes on the next. 

A few elongated skits steal momentum from the 

album’s flow, and the mixes on some tracks lend 

a muddy, gritty feel that the producers nonetheless 

likely intended. Soren Baker 

Further Listening: Rah Digga: Dirty 

Harriet; Heather B: Eternal Affairs 

Rogue’s Gallery. 

Hal Willner, producer. 

Anti 86817 (two CDs). 

While in the midst of preparation for Pirates of 

the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, director Gore 

Verbinski became infatuated with the lost art of 

the sea chantey. He bounced an idea of having 

contemporary artists reinterpreting traditional 

songs off Anti Records owner Brett Gurewitz 

and actor Johnny Depp, both of whom 

supported the concept. And what’s not to love 

Producer Hal Willner soon came aboard as the 

project’s chief mate, trolling antique book stores, 

eBay, and record outlets in turning up 600 song 

possibilities. Ultimately, more than 60 tracks 

were recorded in multiple cities; 43 are compiled 

on Rogue’s Gallery, a fantastically diverse set of 

ballads, chanteys, jigs, waltzes, and scalawag 

songs that’s as entertaining as it is illuminating. 

There are highlights aplenty, the album’s 

finer qualities relating to how the ocean-faring 

melodies and themes influenced—consciously 

or not—the work of the modern musicians 

who perform them. Take Richard Thompson’s 

“Mingulay Boat Song,” its narrative progression 

identifiable in much of the English bard’s work. 

And Bono’s “Dying Sailor to His Shipmates,” 

complete with grand meditative introduction and 

the U2 vocalist’s solemnity. There’s no shortage 

of such heartfelt takes, though Mary Margaret 

O’Hara’s “The Cry of Man” is needlessly drawn 

out while Sting’s “Bloody Red Roses” conjures 

up images of the minstrel traipsing about his 

castle grounds, gardening staff in tow as he picks 

flowers for his sweet. 

Rogue’s Gallery contains more pirate music 

than one needs, yet it’s endless fun, the majority 

of participants bringing to surface the moods— 

loneliness, madness, booziness, recklessness, 

tawdriness, lawlessness, lovesickness, illness— 

that afflicted the minds of these primordial 

water-roving punks. In other words, this ain’t a 

Disney movie. A one-eyed buccaneer if there 

e’er was, Nick Cave cusses up a storm on the 

hellbent, double-entendre laced “Fire Down 

Below”; Three Pruned Men’s “Bully In the 

Alley” is merry, belligerent, dirty; Gavin Friday’s 

rendition of “Baltimore Whores” is an obscene 

roly-poly jamboree; David Thomas’ “Dan 

Dan” and “Drunken Sailor” are appropriately 

loaded. Jarvis Cocker even shows up, rolling 

and swaggering through the mangy “A Drop 

of Nelson’s Blood,” while Lou Reed masterfully 

pulls a reluctant matey away from a ship on the 

doomy “Johnny Leave Her.” 

Since it was recorded in various locales and 

studios, the sonic dimensions and characteristics 

tend to vary. Still, there are no heavily noticeable 

flaws or off-putting blemishes. The low-end and 

depth won’t impress, but the spirit more than 

makes up for any production shortcoming. BG 

Further Listening: The Decemberists: 

The Tain; Tom Waits: Small Change 

Anonymous 4: 

Gloryland. 

Robina G. Young, producer. Harmonia 

Mundi 907400. 

In a year that has seen Bruce Springsteen 

“recontextualize” songs associated with Pete 

Seeger by investing the tunes with rock urgency 

and the venerable Ramblin’ Jack Elliott stick to 

traditionalist basics on a new album of vintage 

country and folk, the seraphic-voiced female 

quartet Anonymous 4 offer Gloryland, the 

continuation of a folk journey it began in 2004 

with stirring meditations comprising American 

Angels: Songs of Hope, Redemption & Glory. 

On these two albums, A4’s concept of 

recontextualization reflects the group’s 

approach on its other 15 albums of early (mostly 

medieval) music—that is, less to reimagine the 

well-researched song choices in contemporary 

terms of tempo and semiotics than to inhabit 

the spiritual world from whence the songs

Music 

Rock etc. 

Music 

Sonics 

sprang and find the place in the human heart 

and soul where the texts live. There is much 

dread and longing in the Gloryland material 

(the bulk of which date from the mid- to late 

1800s), as the album is built on the concept 

of a girl having risked all for love only to be 

forsaken and left to find solace in nature and 

God’s hands. It seems a dour journey, and the 

A4 is singular in its ability to evoke the chilling 

ache of spiritual yearning both vocally (witness 

the somber, piercing entreaties of “Pleading 

Savior”) and instrumentally (with the beautiful 

despair of Darroll Anger’s haunting violin solo 

ascending in “Wayfaring Stranger”). But the 

collective also celebrates the blissful anticipation 

of journey’s end with a sprightly rendering of 

“Just Over In Gloryland” and by employing a 

lilting tempo to invigorate unison vocalizing on 

“Green Pastures.” 

Longtime A4 producer Robina G. Young 

spots the rich harmonies dead center, giving this 

largely a cappella outing an uncommonly lush 

soundscape, one richer still for Marshall and 

Anger’s contributions, as their various stringed 

instruments boast formidable expressive presence, 

essentially making them the group’s fifth 

and sixth voices. David McGee 

Further Listening: Various: Voice of 

The Spirit: The Gospel of The South; 

Various: The Half Ain’t Never Been 

Told, Vol. 1 

Los Lonely Boys: 

Sacred. 

John Porter, Los Lonely Boys, and 

Mark Wright, producers. Epic/Or/ 

Haven 94194. 

If proof were ever needed that musical talent 

courses through the family blood, Los Lonely 

Boys’ sophomore Sacred makes the case. The 

follow-up to their self-titled 2004 debut, Sacred 

somewhat distances itself from its predecessor’s 

roots-based earthiness but is, on its own terms, 

a lively if formulaic step closer to the popular 

mainstream. 

Hailing from San Angelo, Texas and born into 

a family of musicians, Los Lonely Boys are the 

brothers Garza—Henry, JoJo and Ringo (drums, 

natch). Sacred blends their Tex-Mex heritage with 

heavenly Everly Brothers vocals, a piquant mix of 

uptempo Latin and pop genres. Inspired by the 

artistic legacies of Richie Valens, British Invasion 

pop, and Los Lobos, the record leans heavily on 

classic structure and solid melodic hooks. Generic 

musings on life, love, and fame, lyrics are not yet the 

trio’s strong suit. But the sturdy production values, 

chockfull of session monsters like percussionist 

Lennie Castro, Reese Wynans on B3, Mike 

Finnegan on keys, and the blazing Texas Horns, 

are up to the task. As is oldest brother Henry, a 

guitar legend-in-the-making who navigates the 

fingerboard with the predatory intensity of Stevie 

Ray Vaughan or Freddie King. Stand-out tunes 

include the Billboard-ready “Diamonds,” Santana 

saturated “Oye Mamacita,” cojunto-accented 


“Texican Style,” and “Outlaws,” a tribute to one of the original Outlaws, Willie 

Nelson, the man who gave Los Lonely Boys their first big break and who 

stands in for a couple verses as well. 

Sonic quality is at best lackluster, with little in the way of dynamic action. 

Fortunately, the smooth harmonies and searing guitar embellishments feature 

imaging precision and are upfront. Low end—what there is of it—is muddled, 

and there are only brief glimmers of dimensionality and acoustic space. 

Sacred is a solid second effort from a young band closely hewing to 

the paths cut by others but yet to discover its own fully formed voice. 

Neil Gader 

Further Listening: 

Los Lobos: Wolf 

Tracks; Stevie Ray 

Vaughan: Texas 

Flood 

Sir Douglas Quintet: Live From Austin 

TX. New West 6095. 

Kris Kristofferson: Live From Austin TX. 

New West 6098. 

Merle Haggard: Live From Austin TX. 


Willie Nelson: Live From Austin TX. 


For all: Cameron Strang, Jay Woods, and Gary Briggs, 

producers. 

Conceived in 1974 with the modest goal of documenting the staggering 

variety of music to be found in the lively Austin music scene, Austin City 

Limits has always been ahead of the curve, anticipating the entire rootsmusic 

explosion of the ensuing decades and documenting transitional 

moments in country-music history from the 70s forward. 

New West’s latest batch of ACL CDs suggests more the depth than 

the breadth of music the show features. In capturing excellent sets from 

Merle Haggard in 1985 and Willie Nelson in 1990, the show offered an 

overview of how two artists deeply indebted to Bob Wills’ music repaid 

their debts. Typically, Nelson ranges across a broad spectrum of styles 

in his set (the basic framework of which hasn’t changed much since 

the 70s) and drops in a couple of new numbers (including one of his 

finest 90s hits, Beth Nielsen Chapman’s “Nothing I Can Do About It 

Now,” a song so personal it could have been penned by Nelson on the 

night his wife sewed him up in a sheet) that fit right into the traditional 

ethos he advances. For his repertoire, Haggard blends Bakersfield and 

Texas, along with four Wills/Tommy Duncan classics, but brings along 

a horn section to add a Dixieland touch to the show’s opening number, 

“Okie From Muskogee’s Comin’ Home,” and tips his hat to one of 

mainstream country’s great vocal stylists by way of the Lefty Frizzell 

vocal inflections he employs in imbuing with deeply felt soul the tearstained 

ballads “Thank You For Keeping My House” and “What Am 

I Gonna Do (With The Rest of My Life).” In short, Merle is the more 

adventurous, in a Texas sort of way. 


Music 

Rock etc. 

Music 

Sonics 

Kristofferson is a strange case. A former 

Rhodes scholar who aspired to write the 

Great American Novel, he was drawn more 

to the literature and populist sympathies 

of country music than to specific giants 

in its history. His 16-song set is solely 

original, including early 70s classics and 

three compelling numbers from his now 

out-of-print 1981 masterpiece To the Bone, 

“Magdalene,” “Star Crossed,” and “You 

Show Me Yours.” A notoriously stiff live 

performer, Kristofferson delivers a terrific 

concert, singing with uncommon focus and 

conviction. 

In Doug Sahm’s music, rock n’ roll was 

infused by both R&B and south of the 

border energy and sound signatures. It could 

be argued that his eclecticism best reflects 

ACL’s original mandate. Sahm made terrific 

records throughout his too-brief life and 

deserved more attention that he got after 

his hit run, but he settled in a good place 

and remained inquisitive with regard to the 

roots of American music. Augie Meyers’s 

cheesy organ sound never got old or any 

less joyous over the years, and with Alvin 

Crow on guitar and 

fiddle and son Shawn 

Sahm on guitar, Sir 

Doug boasted one 

kick-ass live band that 

was as versatile as it 

was possessed of the 

spirit, just as it was 

on the exciting night 

captured here. 

These being live 

performances, sound 

quality could be an issue, 

but isn’t. The production 

team has done 

a first-rate job giving 

proper presence to the various instrumentalists 

while keeping the vocals hot. Sir Doug sometimes 

sounds so close you might think he’s in the 

room; even Kristofferson, the least of the singers 

in this batch, has riveting presence. That there’s 

so much ACL where this came from is cause for 

celebration; this well should never be allowed to 

run dry. DM 

Further Listening: Steve Earle: Live 

From Austin TX; George Jones: 

Live Recordings from the Louisiana 

Hayride 


The Cure: The Top. 

Robert Smith, Chris 

Parry, and Dave Allen, original 

producers. Rhino. 

The Cure: The Head 

on the Door. 

Smith and Allen, original producers. 

Rhino. 

The Cure: Kiss Me, 

Kiss Me, Kiss Me. 

Smith and Allen, original producers. 

Rhino. 

The Glove: Blue 

Sunshine. 

Smith and Steve Severin, original 

producers. Rhino. 

A high-pitched cackle, a death knell of guitar, 

and vocalist Robert Smith moaning “Wake 

up in the dark/The 

aftertaste of anger in 

the back of my throat.” 

This is how the Cure 

kicks off The Top, 

its oddest and often 

creepiest album—and 

a fitting introduction to 

Rhino’s latest batch of 

Cure reissues. As with 

the label’s previous 

efforts, each album has 

been remastered and 

is beautifully packaged 

with a second disc of 

outtakes and rarities. 

The band’s records have never looked or 

sounded better, Smith’s writhing inner-turmoil 

projected in enough telescopic detail to make 

all cringe. 

The Top is a dense and often misunderstood 

record; in the liner notes, Smith calls it the “solo 

album [he] never made.” “Shake Dog Shake” is 

a horrifying journey into madness, the frontman 

crying “wake up” with obvious desperation as 

guitars lurk like shadowy monsters. The band 

flirts with Middle Eastern psychedelia on the 

“Wailing Wall,” which unravels like a tribal 

funeral gone awry. Not everything works. 

The industrial romp of “Give Me It” quickly 

grows tedious and “The Caterpillar” sounds 

like weird for the sake of weird, but there’s 

genuine thrill in hearing Smith so obviously 

work through his personal demons. Sonically, 

the remastered album is much improved, 

offering a wider soundstage and richer, deeper 

textures. As with most Cure albums, the low 

end is handled especially well, adding to the 

desired murk. A second disc of outtakes is 

largely disposable, save for a sparse demo of 

“Piggy in the Mirror” that ups the anguish of 

the album version. 

After another round of lineup changes, 

the band regrouped for The Head on the Door, a 

towering album that, alongside Disintegration, 

stands as the Cure’s greatest achievement. 

Brilliantly sequenced and recorded, Door 

enhances the best of the band’s tendencies: 

mordor-gloom, industrial pop, and, on the 

brilliant “In Between Days,” a full-moon 

swing that could make even the dourest goth 

kid dance. “Six Different Ways” even lopes 

along on a fractured piano line before Smith 

calls out, “This is stranger than I thought.” 

It’s entirely possible he’s talking about the 

stellar album, which finds the group pushing 

its sound into new territories (are those peprally 

handclaps on “Close To Me”) without 

sacrificing the infectious nature of the tunes. 

The production is equally impressive, with 

the widest soundstage of any Cure album 

and a natural balance between the highs and 

lows. Smith’s voice is handled with special 

care, every whisper, wail, and grunt clearly 

standing out. Even the bonus disc seems 

essential, offering tracks such as “Exploding 

Boy,” which could have seamlessly slid into 

the album. 

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, though it includes 

several of the Cure’s best songs, is just too 

much. There are too many tracks (originally 

a double album, it was compressed to one 

disc for the initial CD release) and the sound 

is too arena-friendly. “Why Can’t I Be You” 

and “Just Like Heaven” are two standouts, 

the former bouncing along on a buoyant 

horn section while the latter, among the 

band’s prettiest songs, delivers a mascaralined 

love song for the predawn crowd. The 

album’s sonics are handled carefully, though 

the band’s signature low end lacks its usual 

punch. 

A one-off collaboration between Smith 

and Steve Severin of Siouxsie & the Banshees, 

The Glove is for completists only, its 

experimental nature (cowbell really) tending 

towards unlistenable. A better choice 

would have been for Rhino to include Disintegration 

in this roundup and save impatient 

fans the hassle of another wait. AD 

Further Listening: The Ponys: 

Celebration Castle; Black Rebel 

Motorcycle Club: Howl

Music 

Rock etc. 

Music 

Sonics 

HOT 

WAX 

Golden Smog: One Fine Day. 

Paco Loco, Ed Ackerson, and Golden Smog, producers. Lost 

Highway 6029 (two LPs). Music: HHH ½ Sonics: HHH 

Golden Smog began recording in 1992 and remains a fitful collaboration for some of the most 

respected names in contemporary pop. Gary Louris and Marc Perlman are former Jayhawks; 

Dan Murphy hails from Soul Asylum; Kraig Johnson is from Run Westy Run; Jeff Tweedy 

stems from Wilco. Rounding things out is the drumming team of Linda Pitmon from Steve Wynn & 

the Miracle 3 and Big Star’s Jody Stephens. 

One Fine Day is only this amorphous group’s third full-length effort, and once you hear it you’ll wish 

they’d get together a little more frequently. The record bursts forth like fireworks with one terrifically 

penned tune after another. Stylistically, songs range from catchy rock and pop numbers to ballads to 

the country-tinged to the folksy. “You Make It Easy” is a contagious rocker and a perfect lead-off 

tune. Like most of this record, it has a timeless quality that’s at once fresh yet familiar. “5-22-02” is 

another bouncy, slightly Beatle-esque number that showcases the group’s beautiful use of harmony 

vocals; two lovely Louris-Tweedy ballads (“Long Time Ago” and “Listen Joe”), on which Tweedy 

picks a banjo, mix up the generally upbeat pace, as does a gorgeous cover of the Kinks’ “Strangers.” 

The album concludes like the group’s title, in a warm and hazy long fade out. 

Lost Highway’s double-LP set—pressed on amber-colored vinyl, no less—was mostly recorded 

live in the studio in Spain and finished up in Minneapolis. Nonetheless, the sound is notably cohesive 

and occasionally excellent. Electric guitars have a convincingly thick crunch when playing rhythm and 

nice bite when a lead line rips loose. Basses and drums throb with warmth, texture, and weight, and 

vocals are nicely mixed into the overall sound. 

Golden Smog may be a side project but its no “supergroup.” These guys and their music are too 

good for that tired moniker. WG 

Further Listening: Golden Smog: Weird Tales; Loose Fur: Born Again In the USA 

Neil Young: Living With War. 

L.A. Johnson and Young, producers. Reprise/Classic 

(200-gram LP). 

It took awhile, but Classic’s 200-gram vinyl pressing of Neil Young’s 

guerilla-protest album Living With War, released in May and reviewed 

in Issue 162 of this magazine, has finally emerged from pressing-plant 

delays. For sonic enthusiasts, the wait is worthwhile. 

Improving upon the already good-sounding disc by a significant degree, 

the dynamically rich analog format pulls back the curtains even further, 

the soundstage’s dimensions larger, wider, and fatter. Young’s guitar naturally 

rolls into the acoustic space, the session’s live-in-the-studio technique 

visceral and immediate. Drums snap and crack; bass lines flow; Young’s 

impassioned lyrics and fiery solos assume life-sized images. Best of all, the 

music’s immediacy is not only 

heard but felt, the warm tones 

of the amplifiers and brassy 

timbres of the horns effortlessly 

conveyed. Gone, too, is a 

slight digital ceiling, beckoning 

listeners to turn this up as loud 

as they desire without fear of 

hitting an imposed limit. Another 

champion Young effort 

from Classic. BG 

Further Listening: Neil 

Young: Greendale; 

Peaches: Impeach My 

Bush 


Jason Moran: Artist 

in Residence. 

Moran, producer; Joe Marciano, 

engineer. Blue Note 62711. 

Jason Moran is that rare jazz musician: 

eclectic to the bone, virtuosic in every scrap 

of it, able to walk all his influences out to 

the edge of the plank and back again, yet 

scrawling his own distinct signature every 

step of the way. His 2002 CD, Modernistic, 

remains the most inventive solo piano jazz 

album of the decade, an insouciant summary 

of practically the entire century’s music, 

hair-raisingly assured for a 27-year-old. His 

2003 Bandwagon, a trio session recorded live 

at the Village Vanguard, made me wonder if 

he’d run out of steam; it consisted mainly 

of songs from Modernistic, played not as 

well. On 2005’s Same Mother, he added a 

guitar (played by Martin Sewell) and, with it, 

a swaying southern blues. Now, with Artist 

in Residence, he takes that mix in still different 

directions. 

It consists, literally, of pieces Moran wrote 

in residence, mainly at art centers, some to 

accompany visual artworks. Uh-oh, you may 

be thinking, the furrowed brow of “chamber 

jazz.” But take a listen; it’s anything but. 

There is a painterly feel to the music, but 

it’s a high-energy, slashing sort of painting. 

Tunes on some earlier albums, Soundtrack to 

Human Motion and Black Stars, were inspired 

by the frenzied yet controlled collagepaintings 

of Basquiat and Rauschenberg (as 

well as classic movie music, Tin Pan Alley 

standards, Prokofiev symphonies, and hiphop 

rhythms), and, if you’re familiar with 

those artists, you’ll hear tonal parallels of 

their strokes and splashes—and, even more, 

of the way they evoke a sense of place and 

memory. This time out, Moran pulls off 

the feat with greater ease; he’s mastered the 

magic and perhaps feels less need to wave 

his wand with grand flourish. In general, 

at first hearing, he seems less technically 

Music 

Jazz 

agile than usual, but he’s just subtler. 

Listen to the elegant splashes on “Milestone,” 

or to the way he can make a chestnut 

like Lloyd Webber’s “Cradle Song” sound 

like a Chopin etude that segues into a 

stride, then a folk melody, then a swinging 

blues, before he comes full circle. The 

album’s last three songs bog down, 

especially the repetitive 11-minute sextet 

number “RAIN,” but until then it’s 

ripping—adventurous but thoroughly 

accessible. 

The sound quality is very good. All 

the instruments are clear, well-balanced, 

and they sound like themselves, especially, 

on one number, the tinkly kora. But the 

highs are rolled off a bit; the piano’s 

overtones don’t blossom and then slowly 

decay, as they should. Fred Kaplan 

Further listening: Andrew Hill: 

Hommage; Ralph Alessi: This 

Against That 

Brad Mehldau Trio: 

House on Hill. 

Mehldau and Matt Pierson, producers. 

Nonesuch 79911. 

Brad Mehldau and 

Renee Fleming: Love 

Sublime. 

Steven Epstein, producer. Nonesuch 

79952. 

Prolific pianist Brad Mehldau tends to go 

on and on, in erudite liner notes and articles, 

explaining the ideological, historical, and 

musical underpinnings of music that, in 

Music 

Sonics 

Extraordinary Excellent Good Fair Poor 


Music 

Jazz 

Music 

Sonics 

the end, speaks eloquently on its own. His 

remarkably accessible albeit internally complex 

performances never repeat themselves, 

although the nine theme-and-variation 

improvisations that make up House on Hill 

leave a final impression of sameness. Still, 

what Mehldau, bassist Larry Grenadier, and 

drummer Jorge Rossy achieve here, after more 

than seven years of playing together, is a fine 

equilibrium that shouldn’t be mistaken for 

leveling. Mehldau wrote these “songs” between 

2000 and 2002, and all but two were recorded 

during the same fall 2002 sessions that yielded 

the compelling Anything Goes collection of 

covers. These tight, largely midtempo studio 

jams tumble along with an edgy but cohesive 

momentum unique to this trio. (Rossy has 

since been replaced by Jeff Ballard.) 

Operating from what seems like a 

constrained palette of melodies, harmonies, 

and dynamics, the players creatively converse 

in a knotty dialectical process (which Mehldau 

analyzes in his notes) with the kind of 

absorbing empathy that lifts them toward the 

heights occupied by Bill Evans’ and Keith 

Jarrett’s legendary trios. Bright at the top end, 

where Rossy’s cymbals and Mehldau’s highest 

treble keys sparkle, and fat and warm (but 

not always tautly defined) at the bottom for 

Grenadier’s roaming bass, the mix makes the 

piano bloom in a spacious middle and gives 

its midrange the most faithful representation, 

which is true to the music’s emphasis. 

While Anything Goes would have been 

the logical companion release, Love Sublime 

provides an even more striking contrast, 

as Mehldau expresses his passion for the 

through-composed art song. Originating 

as a Carnegie Hall commission, the album 


features devotional texts from Rainer Maria 

Rilke’s The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God and 

poet Louise Bogan’s The Blue Estuaries (plus 

title-track lyrics by Dutch singer Fleurine) 

performed by Mehldau and operatic soprano 

Renee Fleming. Though classically rooted and 

formalistic (the duo does not improvise, except 

on “Love Sublime”), the music roils with 

complex modern harmonies and pop-tinged 

melodies thanks to Mehldau’s Whitman-like 

tendency to contain multitudes, from Joni 

Mitchell to Messiaen. The profound poetic 

themes are difficult to decipher from Fleming’s 

gorgeously soaring vocals, which impart their 

own deep emotional thrills. But pondering the 

poetry in the booklet’s printed texts adds to the 

near-transcendent musical experience. 

Transparent sonics bring the ruminative 

dynamics and warm overtones of 

Mehldau’s piano and the lucid, substantial 

tones of Fleming’s aerial vocal lines to the 

front of a surprisingly roomy soundstage. 

Derk Richardson 

Further Listening: Brad Mehldau Trio: 

Anything Goes; Rinde Eckert: Do the 

Day Over 

Keith Jarrett: The 

Carnegie Hall 

Concert. 

Jarrett and Manfred Eicher, producers; 

Martin Pearson, engineer. ECM 7362 

(two CDs). 

I was at Carnegie Hall on September 26, 2005, 

watching Keith Jarrett play piano for nearly two 

hours. It was his first New York solo concert 

in 20 years, and he was in a good mood. He 

didn’t yell at the audience once (a rarity), and he 

played better than I’ve ever heard him (which is 

saying a lot). This two-CD set, released exactly 

one year later, captures the whole concert, 

including all five encores, in superb sound: 

you hear the percussiveness of his touch, 

the bloom of his pedal-sustained overtones, 

the rumble of the bass notes, the ivory clang 

of the high notes, the dramatic range of his 

dynamics (except maybe at the extremes), and 

the warm acoustic of Carnegie. 

Jarrett can sometimes be self-indulgent— 

frills and flourishes for their own sake, 

mannered grunts and spasms—but he was 

relatively restrained here. His concert pieces, all 

pure improvisations, are models of economy, 

each under 10 minutes, themes stated, 

explored, varied on, departed from, returned 

to, done—and gripping from start to finish. 

The encores, mainly standards and familiar 

Jarrett compositions, were similarly taut—and 

lyrical and gorgeous. There is no other jazz 

pianist who can wring such deep emotion 

from the tritest ballad, or make a simple triplet 

sing so nobly, or express rubato with such 

spine-tingling delay. FK 

Further Listening: Keith Jarrett: 

Radiance; Keith Jarrett: The Out-of- 

Towners 

Susanne Abbuehl: 

Compass. 

Manfred Eicher, producer. ECM 1906. 

The subtleties of Susanne Abbuehl’s voice are 

likely to underwhelm a listening public stunned 

by the histrionic vocals that characterize 

Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals and “American 

Idol” competitions. But then, Abbuehl’s choices 

of material (including poems by William Carlos 

Williams and James Joyce, and music by Chick 

Corea and Luciano Berio) and accompaniment 

(acoustic piano augmented only by drums, 

percussion, and clarinets) are not the stuff of 

typical pop or mainstream jazz. Nor are Manfred 

Eicher’s pristine and spacious production 

values, which allow every sonic element room 

to breathe while judiciously balancing the 

barely measurable weight of Abbuehl’s hushed 

singing and the instruments’ downy beds and 

diaphanous obbligatos. 

Compass, the 36-year-old Swiss-born 

vocalist’s second album for ECM, following 

2001’s April, aims not for fans of Sarah 

Brightman, of course, but for that patient 

minority that relishes such uncommon musical 

qualities as languid tempos and exquisite 

intimacy. Indeed, this 12-song program, 

which opens with the gently rippling original 

“Bathyal” and closes with the haunting “In the

Music 

Jazz 

Music 

Sonics 

Dark Pine-Wood,” the last of four Joyce texts 

set to Abbuehl’s music, proceeds at the kind of 

pace rarely attempted by singers other than the 

late Shirley Horn. Moreover, its selections—as 

varied as the folk song “Black is the Color …,” 

the standard “Where Flamingoes Fly,” and 

Sun Ra’s “A Call for Demons”—flow in a 

peaceful, meandering stream that makes “Old 

Man River” seem like a raging flood. 

Wolfert Brederode’s piano provides the 

quietly insistent harmonic currents, and Lucas 

Niggli’s percussion dapples the imperturbable 

surface, while dead center, in the anythingbut-dead 

calm, Abbuehl’s slightly accented 

voice intones intriguing lyrics that probe the 

mysteries of existence, occasionally recalling 

Laurie Anderson’s philosophical musings. 

And the clear, cloudless, wide-open sonics 

make those mysteries even more inviting for 

listening and contemplation. DR 

Further Listening: Robin Holcomb: 

Robin Holcomb; Jeanne Lee and Mal 

Waldron: After Hours 

Ornette Coleman: 

Sound Grammar. 

James Jordan, producer; Chris 

Agovino, engineer. Sound Grammar 

11593. 

This is Ornette Coleman’s first album in 

a decade, and one of his half-dozen best 

ever. He was 75 years old when this live date 

was recorded a year ago at a concert hall in 

Ludwigshafen, Germany, and he still blows 

the alto sax with wailing passion and crystal 

precision. Coleman is above all a melodist—a 

fact often lost on those who are bothered 

that he eschews standard chord changes. But 

listen to these songs; close attention rarely pays 

such rich rewards. Coleman’s current quartet 

consists of a drummer and two bassists. He 

employed two bassists for a time in the 60s, but 

not to such startling effect. Greg Cohen (who’s 

played with everyone from Woody Allen to 

John Zorn) usually plucks, Tony Falanga (a 

veteran classical player) usually bows, and their 

interplay—with each other, with Coleman, and 

with the drummer (Ornette’s son, Denardo 

Coleman, who’s brilliant, by the way, rollicking 

and subtle)—takes the music to a new level of 

complexity, yet without piling up clutter. 

Coleman is often called the father of “free 

jazz,” in the sense that all his musicians are 

free to improvise simultaneously, but it’s a 

misleading moniker in that playing his music 

requires intense discipline precisely because 

it’s untethered from harmonic structure. 

It’s amazing that this music holds together, 

a miracle that it often sounds so beautiful. 

Coleman plays more ballads than he used to, 

and he blows them more poignantly, sometimes 

with a gentle whisper at the end of a passage. 

He plays only original compositions, but he’s 

prone to quote from others—Gershwin, Kern, 

and Stravinsky, among many. The references 


are playful, and they fit the music. 

Denardo’s drums sound muffled, probably 

because (if the Ornette concerts I’ve seen 

at Carnegie are typical) they’re behind thick 

plexiglass panels. The soundstage is narrow. 

Otherwise, the sonics are good. I may be 

rating them a half-star higher than they merit, 

because Ornette’s alto sounds closer to real life 

than on any album he’s ever made and because 

I hear what the two bassists are doing more 

clearly than I’ve heard at Carnegie. I’m told he 

records most of his concerts these days. Bring 

on the next one. FK 

Further Listening: Ornette Coleman: 

Change of the Century; Ornette 

Coleman: The Shape of Jazz to Come 

Weather Report: 

Forecast: 

Tomorrow. 

Joe Zawunil, Wayne 

Shorter, and Bob 

Belden, producers. 

Columbia/Legacy 93604 

(three CDs, one DVD). 

It’s fitting that this gusty 

four-disc retrospective should open with a soft 

breeze, specifically the Joe Zawinul-penned 

tune “In a Silent Way.” That meditative 

composition, the title track to Miles Davis’ 

seminal 1969 fusion album, featured both 

keyboardist Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne 

Shorter, who for 15 years formed the core of 

a band that would stretch the boundaries of 

the fusion genre. Thirty-five years after the 

band’s inception, the exploratory works of the 

progressive-jazz group Weather Report still 

packs gale force, the virtuosic musicianship 

showcasing some of the era’s most creative 

and talented players. 

This new set is co-produced by Zawinul, 

Shorter, and Bob Belden, who won three 

Grammys for his work on Columbia/Legacy’s 

Miles Davis reissue series. It includes 37 

chronologically ordered tracks, culled mostly 

from the group’s 14 albums recorded between 

1971 and 1985. They include such classic sides 

as “Birdland,” “Black Market,” and “The 

Pursuit of the Woman with the Feathered 

Hat.” There also are two previously unreleased 

cuts—a first take of “Directions” (the 1968 

tune that led to Davis’ In a Silent Way sessions), 

and a live version of “Nubian Sundance.” 

The one glaring omission is “Teen Town.” 

However, it pops up on the DVD, which 

features spectacular live footage shot during 

a 1978 concert in Germany and includes 

stunning solos and showy stage antics by 

bassist Jaco Pastorius, as well as a soundtrack 

that rivals Weather Report’s 1979 live album 

8:30. 

Forecast: Tomorrow traces the evolution of 

Zawinul’s musical mystery tour from its initial 

improv-based approach to the latter grooveoriented 

tracks. Over the years, Zawinul and 

Shorter gathered an ever-shifting dream team 

that included bassists Pastorius, Miroslav 

Vitous, and Victor Bailey; percussionists Dom 

Um Ramao, Airto Moreira, Jose Rossy, Mino 

Cinula, and Robert Thomas Jr.; and drummers 

Alphonze Mouzon, Omar Hakim, and Peter 

Erskine. The impeccable jar drumming by 

Marungo-Israeli on the 12-minute original 

of “125th Street Progress” is alone worth the 

price of admission. 

Sonically, Forecast: Tomorrow mirrors the 

changing recording technology of the 1960s, 

70s, and 80s. The annoying tape hiss that 

marred earlier versions of “In a Silent Way” 

is still here. But for the most part, these 

recordings—first reissued in 2002 as digitally 

remastered albums—sound great, with an 

expansive soundstage to match Zawinul’s 

lofty vision and plenty of punch to capture 

the lyrical genius of Pastorius’ fretless electric 

bass. Greg Cahill 

Further Listening: Miles Davis: In 

a Silent Way; Jaco Pastorius: Jaco 

Pastorius 

SACD 

Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet: 

Way Out East. 

Hybrid multichannel. Songlines 1558. Wayne Horvitz and 

Tony Reif, producers. 

Seattle-based composer, pianist, electronic musician, and bandleader Wayne 

Horvitz paints richly textured, impressionistic soundscapes that blend what he 

calls “through-composed” chamber music and group improvisation. Here he 

enlists three key figures from the avant-jazz scene: cellist Peggy Lee, bassoonist 

Sara Schoenbeck, and trumpet player Ron Miles. They are players whose 

individual resumes include stints with Bill Frisell, Dave Douglas, Nels Cline, and 

Quincy Jones, to name a few. 

Way Out East is composed of delicate miniatures that serve as a canvas for the 

Horvitz and his compatriots. The arrangements are sparse, the playing fluid, the 

mood sometimes playful and often somber, with a sadness that is reflected in the 

CD cover art—bare, frost-covered trees craning from a snowy white field on the 

outskirts of Prague, the city’s gaunt, gray skyline shrouded in mist. This austere 

palette is familiar to Horvitz fans; his recent works include last year’s melancholy Whispers, Hymn and a Murmur for string quartet. 

Despite its stark beauty, Way Out East harbors complex musical ideas. The opening track, “L.B.,” an homage to Leonard Bernstein, is built around a harmonic 

device from the musical West Side Story. The title track finds the group exploring early jazz melodies mingled with warmly textured modern harmonies. “Berlin 

1914,” a holdover from a one-off concert project that first teamed Horvitz a few years ago with Lee and Miles, is crafted around a deceptively simple series of 

two-note couplets. On “Between Here and Heaven” the players, especially Lee and Schoenbeck, explore the harmonic boundaries of their acoustic instruments 

while Horvitz lays down a light dusting of electronic ambient sound that would make Brian Eno proud. In the liner notes, Horvitz says that the Gravitas Quartet 

is a dream project; this music certainly has a dreamlike quality that’s hard to resist. 

This hybrid multichannel 5.0 recording has impressive separation all around, in both stereo and surround-sound mode, giving lifelike reproduction to 

instruments that seem to ebb and flow from the unconscious. GC 

Further Listening: Wayne Horvitz: Whispers, Hymns and a Murmur; Dave Douglas: Mountain Passages 


BACK PAGE 

13 Questions for 

EveAnna Manley, 

President, Manley 

Laboratories, Inc. 

Neil Gader 

How does an industry known for classical and jazz geeks accept your 

rock ’n’ roll persona 

Maybe they don’t. Maybe the closet snobs out there just turn up their 

noses at someone like me. I seem to seek out the rock ’n’ rollers. 

What was the system you dreamed about as a teenager 

I worked really hard cutting grass and framing pictures saving up 

for my first serious mid-fi system, which was a Kenwood receiver, 

an Akai tape deck. and a Technics turntable. That’s what I was 

dreaming of in high school. I forgot about the Fisher 500C receiver 

that I grew up with, because tubes did not rule in the 80s. 

How about the music that set you on the high-end path 

Maynard Ferguson, MF I and MF II. Bill Chase. More trumpety stuff 

like The Ides of March Vehicle album, I remember spinning that one 

a lot. And all the Beatles stuff, I was very into that. 

You played trumpet 

I learned trumpet after I got my braces off in 8th grade. But mainly 

I played clarinets and saxes in high school and college. 

What side of the argument do you come down on: analog or digital 

There’s a time and place for either, realistically. Like here at work I don’t 

have time to clean off records, so I just spin a CD or play some crap off 

my computer. At home if I want to get really into it, I’ll take the time. 

Is there one thing that people don’t get about your product 

I don’t think they appreciate how decently priced they are in the 

marketplace compared to some other stuff that’s way more expensive. 

Watt for watt, it comes out pretty decently priced for USA-built gear. 

What’s the biggest mistake buyers make when assembling a system 

from the ground up 

The wrong order in purchasing. Okay, I’m gong to buy this 50W tube 

amp, and now I’m going to buy 84dB-efficient speakers. Wrong! 

You got to think of everything together or go in a certain order—like 

speakers first and then the right amp to drive them, impedance and 

efficiency considered. That’s the worst offense I normally see. People 

paint themselves into a corner by not purchasing in the right order. 

What is the biggest innovation you’ve seen in your field in the last 

10 years 

Nothing that we’re doing! Let’s get real—iTunes has probably changed 

the industry more than anything, and Napster before that. Honestly it’s 

the whole MP3 revolution that’s killing the traditional model. 

What will you be listening to your music on in 10 years 

Probably the successor to the iPod. 

The biggest incidence of quackery 

I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it may incriminate 

me...that or I am much too polite to name names or out anyone. 

Your company produces gear with names like Prawn, Snapper, 

Shrimp, Steelhead. What’s the deal with the fish 

I like scuba diving and a lot of those names are double entendres. 

We’re just having fun. Because I think fun is lacking in this industry. 

Any guidance for young women interested in becoming players in 

this industry 

Personally I never thought about it as male or female. I just do what 

I need to do to excel at what I want to achieve. What it was about 

for me was when I got started young and I wasn’t afraid to tackle 

anything—building gear, soldering, learning geeky things. For me I 

never saw a gender differential. 

Best advice from an old pro 

I’ll tell you what one of my pet peeves is: When folks call me up with 

a whole scenario already worked up in their heads just looking for 

self-validation from me. Why bother Why even bother me with this 

Do your research and be confident in your audio gear choices. Allow 

your dealer to help you. It’s not so important that it should get in the 

way of enjoying the tunes and the music, and nothing in hi-fi can’t 

be undone or changed, anyway. Hell, I’ve been driving the same car 

since 1996.

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